
Stand up for Julian Assange before it's too late - Garbage
http://wlcentral.org/standup
======
cmdkeen
Absolute rot. If the US wanted to extradite him then the UK is a far better
place to get him from thanks to our extradition treaty. Why on earth would
either country state they won't extradite him when they haven't been asked to
extradite him and have no idea what the grounds for any extradition might be?

The secret trial process is presumably one that gives protection to the
privacy of victims of sexual assault. Sweden has its own legal system, if you
happen to go to Sweden you have to abide by it - if Mr Assange doesn't like
Sweden's laws regarding sex then he shouldn't have had sex in Sweden.

~~~
chris_wot
_If Mr Assange doesn't like Sweden's laws regarding sex then he shouldn't have
had sex in Sweden_

Excuse me, but that's a remarkably ignorant comment. What you are actually
saying is "If Mr Assange doesn't like Sweden's laws regarding _rape_ then he
shouldn't have _committed rape_ in Sweden". Because he wasn't accused of
having _sex_ in Sweden (that is not in any doubt), rather the questioning is
in regards to an alleged rape.

You have no proof that he committed (or did not commit) rape in Sweden.

~~~
cmdkeen
Well given you can't face claims of consentless sex without having sex I'd say
it is an issue.

Anyway - the point is that Sweden takes the rights of alleged rape victims
seriously. Hence why trials have privacy attached and interviewing someone
remotely isn't up to scratch. If you don't like that Sweden has the balance of
rights over sexual issues lying more on the woman's side than elsewhere in the
world then perhaps you shouldn't have sex whilst you're in freedom.

I have no proof he committed rape in Sweden. I have an awful lot of evidence
that he isn't rushing to clear his name in Sweden...

~~~
josscrowcroft
I don't follow this (semi-retarded) argument of "is accused of rape in sweden
-> his fault for having sex in their country"

~~~
kamjam
I am guessing he is American, they HATE Assange with a vengeance, saying _he_
put soldiers lives at risk by publishing the truth. Right... Given that it was
Memorial Day, emotions might be running higher still.

~~~
chris_wot
Watch your sweeping statements. There are a LOT of Americans who support
Julian Assange.

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nextstep
It's disappointing that nobody seems to support what Julian Assange was trying
to do with wikileaks. This Swedish rape accusation bullshit is a distraction
and a smear campaign. I was hoping for more insightful comments from HN.

~~~
CJefferson
I can support what Julian Assange was trying to do, while not liking Julian
Assange himself particularly. Actually, I find it unfortunate that what I view
as sich a good idea, is attached to such an apparently dodgy individual.

~~~
mike-cardwell
Some would argue that the smear campaign has worked on you in exactly the way
it was intended.

~~~
CJefferson
So then the question is, how can we tell what is a smear campaign, and what
isn't?

Personally, I don't care overly much, as I care more about wikileaks than
about Assange. However, I realise that many people will not be able to
separate the two.

This story ( [http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/03/01/assange-goes-off-
dee...](http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/03/01/assange-goes-off-deep-end-
blaming-jews-and-guardian-in-private-eye/) ) - I read the original print copy,
is what convinced me Assange at least seems to be becoming unstable (perhaps
understandable), as I generally trust Private Eye (which is a British
political magazine).

~~~
eli
He comes off rather poorly in Bill Keller's account of Wikileaks' dealings
with the NYTimes as well.

------
ck2
What about Bradely Manning? It is Memorial Day after all, why has the world
just forgotten about him?

~~~
gregbair
Because he did not die while serving his country? That's what Memorial Day is.

~~~
ck2
His life is effectively over for serving his country and following his
conscious and morals

He will live in a cell the size of a bathroom for the rest of his life and
face possible torture.

While we shop at the mall he did something incredible brave.

~~~
adamokane
Memorial Day is a day for remembering men and women who died while serving the
country in the armed forces. It has nothing to do with Bradley Manning.

edited to address comment below - I know what you're saying, and those people
absolutely sacrificed...but that's what Veteran's Day is for, as I understand
it.

~~~
ck2
Is it about death or rather sacrifice? What about someone that would have died
from their wounds in WW2 or vietnam but from the useless Iraq or Afgan wars
they lost limbs but survived?

What about someone who was told by recruiters they would not have to kill
anyone and went in as a photographer but their airport was overrun and got
severe mental trauma because they had to kill people at point-blank range? Do
they deserve to be included?

The dead don't suffer, it's the living scarifies that do.

Let's stop war by making draft mandatory. They we can all have a real memorial
day instead of BBQ.

Yes I know we have Veterans Day but it seems kinda stupid to have just one day
if we supposedly value such sacrifice.

------
SagelyGuru
Follow the link by Christine Assange (his mother) which lists many interesting
points and events in chronological order.

<http://wlcentral.org/node/2486>

------
drstrangevibes
10 minutes expected time on an extradution that is unecessary. I think they
have already made up their mind. The best case scenario is that he will never
be seen again, the worst? they will kill him.

~~~
objclxt
_Sigh_

This topic tends to cause people with no knowledge or experience of the
English legal system to come out with some crazy stuff.

Firstly, judgements in England are typically delivered _orally_. The ten
minutes refers to the time taken to read out the judgement in open court, not
the time taken to deliberate.

Secondly, and this is a very important point that people here tend to forget,
_this has nothing to do with whether he is guilty or not_.

Here are the facts: Sweden issued a European arrest warrant (EAW) for Assange,
and want him to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. As a member of
the EU, the UK is obliged to transfer him to Sweden, as per the conditions of
the warrant. The EAW is very useful, and makes a lot of sense: EU citizens can
move and live between EU member states freely, and the EAW is an extension of
that.

It is not of relevance to the English courts whether Assange is guilty or not:
that's for the Swedish courts to ascertain. It is widely accepted amongst
legal circles that Assange's defence is _very weak_. His defence team are
trying to get him off on a technicality - the treaty that governs EU arrest
warrants states that requests must be made by "competent judicial
authorities", and they're arguing that the Swedish prosecutor isn't a
"judicial" official.

That's it. That's all they have. Not honouring the EAW would have _huge_
implications for extradition cases across Europe. I think it's quite likely
Assange will be handed over to Sweden, but not because of some vendata or
conspiracy - simply because he _has no case_ with regards to his extradition.
Assange could very well be totally innocent, but that's a matter he should
argue in Sweden where the alleged offence was committed, not the UK.

~~~
drstrangevibes
While I agree that killing him would probably create more problems than it
solves the facts remain.

a) judgement will be given 1 hour after the court building so thats still not
much time .

Here are the facts: Sweden is trying to extradite him for the purpose of
questioning, but they have refused all offers to question him via telephone or
video call, despite it being a completely legal method under Swedish law.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's lawyer tells CBS News that rape and sexual
molestation allegations against his client in Sweden are a "stitch up," and
the Swedish prosecutor's failure to provide him with documentation on the
claims, or any evidence, makes it impossible to begin crafting a legal
response.

Call it what you want, I call it Bulls __t

If charged, the following trial would be held in secret.

~~~
philwelch
Well if Assange's lawyer thinks the Swedish prosecutor has no case, he must be
right!

I don't really like it either, but there's a rationale for rape trials to be
secret. One of the biggest reasons rape victims don't press charges is because
they don't want to face the enormous public scrutiny into their personal lives
that always comes with a rape trial. At least in America, the most common
legal defense against rape is to attack the victim's credibility and publicly
brand her a slut. It's emotional blackmail but it works, which is why most
rapes go completely unreported and why Kobe Bryant, for instance, is still a
free man.

If Assange was going to be framed by the authorities, it wouldn't be in Sweden
of all places, and it would be for something like tax evasion, not rape. It's
way easier to go after troublesome public figures on tax charges.

~~~
drstrangevibes
>Well if Assange's lawyer thinks the Swedish prosecutor has no case, he must
be right! er...thats not what was said at all. however, sticking with the
point:its good practise for lawyers to present their case to the other side
before trial, Assanges lawyers are saying they arent being given the chance to
formulate a defence due to malpractise of the prosecution.

