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Supreme Court Rules Julian Assange May Be Extradited
sirlark writes with an update on the protracted legal proceedings regarding Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden: "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has lost his Supreme Court fight against extradition to Sweden to face accusations of sex offenses. The judgement was reached by a majority of five to two, the court's president, Lord Phillips, told the hearing. Mr Assange's legal team was given 14 days to consider the ruling before a final decision is made, leaving the possibility the case could be reheard."
This may, however, not be the end. From the article: "Lord Phillips said five of the justices agreed the warrant had been lawful because the Swedish prosecutor behind the warrant could be considered a proper 'judicial authority' even it they were not specifically mentioned in legislation or international agreements. This point of law had not been simple to resolve, said Lord Phillips, and two of the justices, Lady Hale and Lord Mance, had disagreed with the decision. But Ms Rose immediately indicated she could challenge the judgement saying that it relied on a 1969 convention relating to how treaties should be implemented. She said this convention had not been raised during the hearing. " This led to the court staying the order until June 13th to give Assange's lawyers time to argue this avenue.
What are they extraditing him for? Is he charged with any crime? This smells like bullshit to me.
This won't be reopened, as despite Ms Roses position regarding the Judges comments about the treaty conventions, the Judges are allowed to test the validity of the arguments presented by both sides, so they need to test the defences assertion that the warrant is illegal or unlawful - that means referring to past cases and decisions to determine consistency. Ms Rose doesn't have an argument there.
So the Swedish ones can start partying today ??
I don't see what he and his attorneys hoped to gain from fighting the extradition. The merit of the case in Sweden is another matter, but that isn't something an extradition court will decide. They don't try the case, they just decide if the request for extradition is a legal one, meets the standards for whatever agreement there is with said nation and so on.
In the case of the UK and Sweden there's a pretty strong extradition treaty so there really wasn't any way there's be another outcome.
Even if he managed to stop it on a technicality of something like the prosecutor not being the right person to be able to request the extradition, Sweden would just go and make a more formal request through their ambassador.
Among countries with strong extradition treaties about the only time it gets denied is if it is a crime they just don't extradite for (minor crimes are often things that they won't) or if the punishment isn't something they'll allow. That has happened with the US and Canada. Canada won't extradite for capital crimes, they aren't ok with the death penalty. So the US has to agree not to seek it, and then the extradition will go ahead.
It really has gotten to the point of rather silly. He's going to have to go and face the charges in Sweden. If they'll stick is a whole different matter, but that is up to the Swedish courts. You don't get to just run to another country and hide from criminal charges, particularly in Europe. What with a bunch of countries near each other and fairly easy borders, they understand the importance of such things.
I'm really not sure what they were going for, other than just a delaying tactic.
I'd just like to be the first to say welcome to the U.S. Mr. Assange. How was your brief visit to Sweden?
If the government can't get you on what they want they settle for anything that puts you behind bars even if it's something dicey like this lame charge. It's one of the reasons for search warrants or my favorite is searching your car when they pull you over for a dead tail light. If you look hard enough you can usually find something to bust people on. Translated if they want to put you in jail they can probably come up with something to bust you on.
All of this has nothing to do with anything but ultimately getting him to the US, the US is upset over the fact that he leaked the truth about what they were doing. They want payback. This is about the fact that he pissed off an 800 lb gorilla and that gorilla wants to make an example of him. Did he do anything illegal, IMO, no, but that counts for nothing. It comes down to how can they US manipulate the system with bogus charges to get him where they need him to be ... in their control
Yeah, we will challenge, we will object...:)
Sorry for being sarcastic, but I don't see how Julian will avoid this one (except running again). And please, don't get me started about how Sweden will send him to US - for starters, UK has been biggest whipping boy for US on such cases. How US haven't requested extradition is quite interesting - either they don't care (less likely), or they can't nail him with current evidence (knowing that even with such explosive charges no country will sent him to US without lenghty evolution of available evidence).
So it is quite possible that he is fighting this because he doesn't want world to know what ass he can be sometimes :)
user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
I look forward to the imminent apprehension of this enemy combatant.
Not at all. Sweden has issued an international arrest warrant and started extradition proceedings. Since Sweden is regarded as a friendly country with a legitimate government and judiciary they really don't have any choice. Moreover the alleged sexual offences happened in Sweden. It's not as if they want to try him on some nebulous charges relating to Wikileaks.
Does that help clarify things?
Palm trees and 8
As opposed to people like Assange?
You haven't a clue about what slavery really is.
Dog is my co-pilot.
I wouldn't send lead to the court - aside from being very heavy, it's quite common and not particularly valuable.
Gold is good, but also heavy. Try diamonds instead; they are also in fact quite common but the market inflates their value so the bribe-to-weight ratio is very good.
Julian Assange thrown into gitmo might be just the spark we need. It'd be a huge uproar.
'D suck for him tho.
the alleged sexual offences happened in Sweden. It's not as if they want to try him on some nebulous charges
I must admit, it is easy to forget an important detail: the original prosecutor dropped the case entirely, citing a lack of evidence. Sounds pretty nebulous to me...
Palm trees and 8
really wasn't that like 10 years ago he was a big deal?
I guess you did not notice the stir that Wikileaks, an organization that was led by Julian Assange, created over the past few years. You know, the revelations about banks, about the US government, about the "global intelligence" industry, and numerous other corrupt organizations?
Palm trees and 8
This alleged rape case has meant that rape is what people think about when they hear about wikileaks - rather than the crimes/... that wikileaks has exposed. Wikileaks itself has also taken its eyes off the ball.
As a way of diverting attention from the real issues the rape case & extradition has been very successful.
What CIA connection do the women have?
Best Slashdot Co
He is being requested by a Swedish administrative government prosecutor. In britain, that is not a "Judicial Authority", as the British parliamentarians that voted the ratification of the European extradiction treaty (or whatever) understood it.
However, a panel, er, council of British "supremes" decided 5x2 that "Judicial Authority" means what it means on the Treaty in French. Not what the lawmakers and British parliamentarians thought it meant - in English - when they ratified and voted it into British extradiction Law.
A government prosecutor is - in French - a "Judicial Authority". In Britain, that means at least a Judge. In other words, an administrative government servant x an "independent" judicial power.
They want him "for questioning". But, refuse to question him in Britain, even in the Scotland Yard.
More toast, Alice?
You know, like "manslaughter" is different from "murder".
From the Judgement:
" “judicial authority”, in the context of the Framework Decision, and other European instruments, bears a broad and autonomous meaning. It describes any person or body authorised to play a part in the judicial process."
"in respect of both the English words “judicial authority” and the equivalent words in the French text. Those words are “autorité judiciaire”. In the final version of the Framework Decision the same weight has to be applied to the English and the French versions. It is, however, a fact that the French draft was prepared before the English and that, in draft, in the event of conflict, the meaning of the English version had to give way to the meaning of the French. The critical phrase does not bear the same range of meanings in the English language as in the French"
So its all about word picking if the attorney is a "judicial authority” or not.
By the way - does the chief secretary also "play a part in the judicial process" and can therefore ask for your extradition? Never minding the national laws of what would have been done to get a national warrant of arrest?
I lag
I can totally understand that. It makes sense that a lot of people (and I'm certainly not immune) would run into a reasoning flaw caused by this.
Nevertheless, the "rape" charge really does look like either bullshit or a bizarre Swedish technicality, so it's kind of infuriating. Even if he really were an actual rapist, the allegations against him sound nothing like what most people would think of as rape. In fact I don't think we should use that word (since it seems so dishonestly inaccurate) but rather "regressively-technical Swedish sex crime," kind of like committing the crime of "sodomy" in Texas.
Swedish citizens, shame on you for not repealing this silly law. YOU ARE ALL TEXANS TO ME.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
It took me this whole time to realize they are pulling an Al Capone on this guy for trying to do a GOOD thing.
Fuck. I guess that means Capone is in office.
http://bit.ly/qIKLgo
"The UK’s extradition treaty does not have the temporary surrender (’conditional release’) clause. The UK’s judicial review process, while far from perfect, has a number of practical review mechanisms. The nearest equivalent case, of Gary McKinnon - a UK citizen who has been charged for hacking US military systems - has been opposed in the courts for 8 years.
Public opinion and the media (to a greater extent) are more sympathetic to Julian Assange in the UK than in Sweden. Public pressure could draw out the process of extradition to the United States in the UK. In Sweden the media climate is hostile (seeMedia climate in Sweden
) due to the sex allegations. Public outcry would be significantly weaker and therefore less likely to stand in the way of a strategically convenient extradition.
In the UK, Julian Assange is better able to defend himself, muster support and understand the legal procedures against him. In Sweden on the other hand, the language barrier prevents him from effectively challenging the actions against.
The UK is politically better positioned to withstand pressure from the United States than Sweden. Sweden is a small country of nine million people close to Russia. It has grown increasingly dependent on the United States. In recent years Sweden has complied with directives from the United States in a manner that has not been scrutinised by Parliament, as has been revealed by the disclosed diplomatic cables (seePolitical Interference
).
sounds like "sex sponge" to me
It was her department that was humiliated.
3.The cryptoanarchist goes to Sweden; while in Sweden, he has sex with women who have connections to the CIA.
There is absolutely no proof of this wild allegation.
Most likely, it is simply a case of two jilted women who are pissed off that Assange slept with both of them in the style of a rock star.
This bullshit about "CIA connections" with the ladies is paranoia and really unrelated to reality. It's tinfoil hat bullshit.
Folks, women get pissed of about shit like this *ALL THE TIME*, the difference in this case is the *target* is famous.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
It was because of the actions of Julian Assange and Bradley Manning that Osama Bin Laden was finally tracked down. They released files about Afghanistan which than forced the DoD/CIA to go through them looking for people that might be put in danger. It was only then that the CIA realized that they had the name of Osama's courier and from that tracked down were he was and finally were Osama was hiding. Now some have spun this as, "Bradley Manning forced them to move up their schedule" but that's giving way too much credit to the CIA. I think it was more likely those papers would of got filed, archived, and forgotten. Therefore for their heroic deeds they should both receive the medal of honor and the bounty on Osama's head.
Sig. Sig. Sputnik
Maybe not beyond reasonable doubt. But definitely on the balance of probability.
How can they not immediately see that this extradition request is a politically motivated abuse of the justice system? Are they really so corrupt that they just don't care or are do they all have brain damage?
The second Swedish prosecutor, the one who revived the charges, is a US CIA asset. You can verify this yourself. He represented the US CIA for the Swedish Extraordinary Rendition case.
Timeline.
1. 18 Nov. Swedish prosecutors request issue of arrest warrant.
2. 28 Nov 2010. Wikileaks reaches agreements to publish 220 State Department secrets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak
3. 29 Nov 2010. Hillary says "we are taking aggressive steps to hold those responsible." http://www.nowpublic.com/world/hillary-clinton-wikileaks-statement-and-remarks-november-29-2010-2732928.html
4. 6 Dec 2010. Police advise Assange that arrest warrant issued. (Wikipedia)
5. 7 Dec 2010. Assange hands himself in. (Wikipedia)
I suspect that the US will not try to extradite Assange from Sweden because the negative repercussions (on UK, Sweden, and even US public opinion) will be too serious at this point of the election cycle, besides highlighting a major failure of the US state department.
This is what is termed, "extra judicial" -- meaning it is unlawful, unethical and plainly would never be allowed in a real court of law, period!
Clearly, the point those illegitimate swine who dare call themselves judges was never brought up during the trial, never addressed during the trial, and therefore never argued during the trial --- a complete and total travesty.
From the above:
From the Wikileaks statement released in advance of the ruling:
* The US Grand Jury reportedly possesses a sealed indictment, which could be used to extradite Assange to the United States.
* Secret subpoenas have been served on ISPs and online services for the private data of WikiLeaks staff and supporters.
* Special task-forces have been setup by various various US intelligence agencies, including the Pentagon, CIA, FBI, and the US State Department.
* Associates of WikiLeaks have been detained and interrogated at US and UK airports, their equipment confiscated, and attempts have been made to turn them into informants.
* If the indictment is unsealed upon Assange's extradition to Sweden he faces further removal from Sweden to the United States.
* Meanwhile, an unprecedented extralegal denial of service by Visa and Mastercard has cut off funding to WikiLeaks, almost shutting down WikiLeaks' publishing activity.
* If the extradition to Sweden is quashed in the outcome of the court judgement, he faces extradition from the United Kingdom.
* Both Swedish and UK governments have been coordinating with the US, taking steps to facilitate a US extradition request in either eventuality. Assange cannot take steps to avoid either risk. For 539 days he has been detained without charge in the UK under house arrest.
* Under US pressure the Australian government has relaxed its own extradition law, smoothing any possible extradition from Assange's home country. The Gillard government has also amended legislation to give Australian intelligence agencies powers of surveillance over WikiLeaks supporters.
Bradley Manning is still stuck in the military justice system. For all his pontificating, I've not seen anything by Assange saying he'd trade places with him.
much more interesting header
It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Heh.
I hope he enjoys the rest of his life in PMITA prison.
I'll just be over here, you know, warming up the ol' ball shocker. Of course, they might just "accidentally" expose him to sunlight on the way back. Everyone will pretty much just shrug and say "Whoopsie!" after he bursts into flame...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
> now some idiot is claiming that the women dropped the charges.
Damn you're a fucking moron..
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=julian+assange+charges+dropped
I must admit, it is easy to forget an important detail: the original prosecutor dropped the case entirely, citing a lack of evidence. Sounds pretty nebulous to me...
Not really, no.
Lawyer appeals decision on Assange case
Renewed rape suspicions for WikiLeaks' Assange
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
1) As soon as he steps foot in Sweden he will be extradited to the US.
2) The charges in Sweden will drop, and two bank accounts will become fatter.
3) Once in the US he will be thrown in a hole next to the other guy who has been imprisoned without charge or trial. (US seems to love doing this the last while)
4) There the two will sit in legal limbo for some extended period of time (10 years?)
5) After a suitable period of time has passed when know one remembers or cares who these guys are they will be quietly charged and found guilty.
6) They will then sit in a hole for a very long time.
7) Perhaps eventually someone will make issue when they are old men, they will be released, and sue the government for millions in taxpayer money.
8) US will gladly pay, as they got their message across which was, "Mess with us and we will effectively ruin what is left of your miserable life".
"Everyone has committed a crime, it's about who we decide to prosecute". --KGB
Casteism