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Swedish Investigators Attempt Assange Interview; Wikileaks Makes Major Release
cold fjord writes: It seems Julian Assange rates his own section (The Assange Matter) on a Swedish government website related to the investigation. It contains some FAQs on points that seem to keep coming up in Slashdot discussions. The website isn't completely up to date at the moment since it doesn't discuss the recent attempt by Swedish investigators to interview Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Unfortunately that attempt failed since the government of Ecuador didn't give permission to the Swedish delegation to enter their embassy. That is quite odd given the years of demands for this. Concurrent with this, Wikileaks has started releasing what is reported to be more than 500,000 leaked Saudi Arabian diplomatic documents that are sure to stir up some controversies. Most are in Arabic so it may take some time for their contents to filter out.
Not odd at all.
The Statue of Limitations on some of the charges against Assange run out this August.
more than 500,000 leaked Saudi Arabian diplomatic documents that are sure to stir up some controversies. Most are in Arabic so it may take some time for their contents to filter out.
90% of the documents consist of erotic novels where George W. Bush and Barack Obama are made to do some very kinky things for their Saudi masters. "70 Shades of Oil Dependence" is the best of the lot.
Ecuador didn't give permission to the Swedish delegation to enter their embassy.
Fine. Assange stands on embassy grounds while the investigators stand outside embassy grounds and they talk.
Hasn't Assange done so with journalists?
Could we not link to the sort of site which also carries "The miracle that cured my son’s autism was in our kitchen" and "Elin Nordegren has Sex on the Beach in the Hamptons" on the front page?
when did the World Islamic War start?
It works just fine on the docs. Copy and paste the text from most of them and happy reading!
"GET / HTTP/1.0" 200 51230 "-" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; Setec Astronomy)"
Except for the few remaining Assange-is-a-rapist trolls, the world+dog has known for a long time that this is just the long hand of the US. Give up, already.
Sorry, to describe your beliefs as tin-foiled hat is generous. The turning over of Assange by Sweden to the US is a ludicrous and desperate notion. Plus it is a massive diversion from the fact of whether a "rape" occurred (according to the Swedish definition) and the female victim of this incident is being treated unfairly by Assange's defenders, effectively saying he deserves a pass due to his work elsewhere.
Roman Polanski fled the sentence after entering a guilty plea to raping a 13 year old. There was no question of his guilt, he told the court that he drugged the young teen and raped her
There is no limit on Polanski serving time he was sentenced to _after_ guilt was established. If you want a better comparison to the statute of limitations for Assange, try Bill Cosby.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Wins again!
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
I translated "If you trust Google for anything, you had better be ready for war." to Arabic then back to English and got "If you trust Google for anything, you may be better prepared for war."
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
if they wanted to talk to this guy, Antonio Meucci invented a very useful tool circa 1870 that would've let them do so. Since it's 2015, they could even have (gasp) video! The guy's already in protective custody anyway.
Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
I have yet to see anyone claim he gets a pass because of his work. What I have seen are skeptics that a rape occurred given the facts that have been released by Swedish Officials and knowing the surrounding information. Surrounding information on both the alleged victims and the US wanting him for espionage to be clear, because you should really understand both.
From day one of Sweden wanting to "question" him there was discussion of deportation to the US. Given that the UK has no problem arresting journalists they don't like and sharing with the US who's to say he would have ever made it back to Sweden? The discussion of Sweden deporting him gained more publicity but is the most unlikely scenario.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Assange offered to return to Sweden years ago if the government promised not to hand him over to the United States for "intelligence crimes", which even propagandist Rei admits they aren't supposed to do.
Sweden has never made such a promise, which is why Assange was granted asylum, and why you're an authoritarian bootlicker.
Then Sweden should have let it be about the rape charges and told Assange he wouldn't be deported faster than Agiza and Zery.
They haven't.
Unfortunately you've got some things wrong there. I suggest you read this, and follow the link to read the rest of that item.
Four: “The Swedes should interview Assange in London”
This is currently the most popular contention of Assange’s many vocal supporters. But this too is based on a misunderstanding.
Assange is not wanted merely for questioning.
He is wanted for arrest.
This arrest is for an alleged crime in Sweden as the procedural stage before charging (or “indictment”). Indeed, to those who complain that Assange has not yet been charged, the answer is simple: he cannot actually be charged until he is arrested.
It is not for any person accused of rape and sexual assault to dictate the terms on which he is investigated, whether it be Assange or otherwise. The question is whether the Swedish investigators can now, at this stage of the process, arrest Assange. .... More
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
[...], he's moved the goal posts - suddenly there's some OTHER reason he can't be interviewed[...]
Do you have any credible supporting information for the claim that the Ecuadorean refusal of admission to the Swedish prosecutors is in any way the result of the wishes of Assange?
Note: wishful thinking is not credible evidence. Witch burning is bad m'kay.
"Most are in Arabic so it may take some time for their contents to filter out."
Almost a billion people speak Arabic, so where's the problem?
Here you go:
Sweden rejects Assange appeal to drop arrest warrant
A Swedish court has rejected an appeal by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange against his arrest warrant for alleged sex offences.
The warrant was issued by Sweden in 2010 on two allegations of sexual assault.
Mr Assange denies the assault claims and has been living at the Ecuadorean embassy in London since June 2012.
Swedish investigators are now likely to proceed with plans to travel to London to question Mr Assange.
The Supreme Court said it saw "no reason to lift the arrest warrant", since moves to question Mr Assange in London were already in place. ......
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
Okay, let's assume that Assange thought himself in danger of being picked up by the CIA if he entered Sweden, and follow the chain of reasoning.
Earlier:
Fanboi: Julian, you do realize that, if you go to Sweden, the CIA is going to kidnap you, don't you?
Assange: Sure, that sounds great. I'll move there and file for permanent residence.
Meanwhile:
Evil CIA Guy: Hey, that Assange guy is going to Sweden. Let's kidnap him there and bring him back here.
US official: Meh, let's get to that sometime later.
Somewhat later:
Fanboi: Julian, you do know the history of US-requested extraditions from the UK, don't you? You do realize that the UK will probably roll over on extradition.
Assange: Sounds wonderful. I'll go there for a while.
Meanwhile:
Evil CIA Guy: Hey, if we just charge Assange with espionage, we can ask the UK to extradite him, and we'll have him here. Let's go for it.
US official: Is it all that important?
UK Courts: Julian Assange, we find this Swedish extradition request to be valid, and the allegations are rape in both the UK and Sweden.
Assange: Waaah! If I go to Sweden the CIA will snatch me and take me to the US!
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
They must want to arrest him since there is an arrest warrant out for him. How can they arrest him if they can't take control of him? That is nonsense. Questioning following arrest is typical, not unusual. Assange had a chance for questioning without arrest, but that is gone now. If Assange is surrendered for arrest he will probably be in custody until this is cleared up, which probably means a trial and maybe prison. Now he is a bail jumper and nobody will take a chance on him doing it again. And once Sweden is done with him he will have to face UK justice for violating his bail and becoming a fugitive. Assange will probably send several more years in that embassy to try to run out the rest of the charges against him instead of face them.
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
Courts in the UK looked at many questions, including would the allegation against Assange constitute rape in the UK, and did the prosecutor have the authority to issue the EAW. Here are extracts from the magistrate's ruling:
City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court
(Sitting at Belmarsh Magistrates’ Court)
The judicial authority in Sweden -v- Julian Paul Assange
Findings of facts and reasons
I make the following findings of fact from the evidence I have heard: ...
2. In Sweden, a person interrogated for rape is normally detained and held incommunicado during the process. These decisions are taken by a court.
....I heard live evidence from a recently retired Swedish prosecutor. Mr Alhem told me in there is nothing wrong with the EAW in this case. Similarly Brita Sundberg-Weitman said that Ms Ny is entitled to issue an EAW, although not on the facts as she understood them to be. Mr Hurtig is a Swedish lawyer. He may not be an expert on extradition but nevertheless he must have been well placed to discover whether Ms Ny had the appropriate authority, and he has not suggested otherwise. Ms Ny herself has made a statement saying she has the appropriate authority. .... I was also taken to original documents, including the Swedish Code of Statutes. Section 3 says, with reference to the EAW: “A Swedish arrest warrant for the purpose of criminal prosecution is issued by a prosecutor. ... Ms Ny’s details are provided and she signed the warrant. Even without the SOCA certification I have no doubt that Marianne Ny issued the warrant and is a “judicial authority which has the function of issuing arrest warrants”. ...
Assange: would the rape allegation also be rape under English law?
The Magistrates’ Court ruled (emphasis added):
The position with offence 4 is different. This is an allegation of rape. The framework list is ticked for rape. The defence accepts that normally the ticking of a framework list offence box on an EAW would require very little analysis by the court. However they then developed a sophisticated argument that the conduct alleged here would not amount to rape in most European countries. However, what is alleged here is that Mr Assange “deliberately consummated sexual intercourse with her by improperly exploiting that she, due to sleep, was in a helpless state”. In this country that would amount to rape.
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No, this doesn't work for you since you want him to be guilty before he's even moved.
No, I don't. I just think the question should be answered in court if the allegations are strong enough to support a trial.
If you are thoughtful, you may see some irony in this:
Sweden Angered By Julian Assange Fight, Says It Won't Extradite Him If He Faces Death Penalty
The rape allegation is the most serious and if proven in court could lead to up to four years in jail.
The lawyer for the two women stood by the allegations and criticised Assange for not coming back to be questioned.
"It's an abuse of the asylum instrument, the purpose of which is to protect people from persecution and torture ... It's not about that here," Claes Borgstrom told Reuters.
"He doesn't risk being handed over to the United States for torture or death penalty. He should be brought to justice in Sweden. This is completely absurd."
At the same time, Assange might not have that much to worry about, said
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