
Swedish court upholds Assange arrest warrant - ramblenode
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-sweden-assange-idUSKCN0YG11N
======
willvarfar
Someone accused of rape should not be given refuge to wait it out.

Its easy for armchair conspiracists to imagine this whole thing an elaborate
ruse to extradite Assange to the US, but Assange was being questioned in
Sweden before he fled from there and on bail in the UK prior to 'fleeing' to
the Ecuadorian embassy. It seems a very roundabout way for the Americans to
get at him.

Occams Razor Assange is fleeing justice and abusing the trusting conspiracists
trust in promoting the whole American extradition narrative.

PS: so the downvotes roll in :(

Really, are these girls secretly American agents? And the Americans, rather
than use two girl agents that had intimate access to Assange, chose to burn
them by asking them to escalate to the Police when Assange wouldn't be treated
for STDs?

~~~
onion2k
You're absolutely right, Assange should face his accusers in court. That's
obvious. The problem is that Sweden and the UK are complicit in America's
desire to seize Assange and put him in prison without even the possibility of
a fair trial, and the first step in that process is his extradition to the US
from either the UK or Sweden. That is what's interfering with the case and
what Assange is fleeing from, not the rape allegation.

If the UK and Sweden were to agree that Assange wouldn't be extradited to the
US I imagine he'd be on the next flight to Stockholm. It's the extradition
order that's blocking these two women getting justice, not Assange himself.

~~~
willvarfar
What extradition order?

The Swedes have asked the UK to extradite him to Sweden.

The US hasn't asked either the UK nor Sweden to extradite him to the US. Is
there even a court case against him in the US?

The extradition to the US seems to be Assange's own narrative. Why didn't the
US reach out to get him on the streets of London?

~~~
mtgx
The US gov has charges against Assange lined-up. They're just waiting for the
opportunity to bring him in.

[http://www.mediaite.com/tv/assange-why-is-doj-wikileaks-
inve...](http://www.mediaite.com/tv/assange-why-is-doj-wikileaks-
investigation-still-ongoing-while-clinton-got-cleared/)

~~~
eli
I don't think that's true and your link doesn't support there even being any
charges against him, let alone there being a plan to extradite.

~~~
belorn
[http://www.svt.se/ug/julian-assange-riskerar-utlamning-
till-...](http://www.svt.se/ug/julian-assange-riskerar-utlamning-till-usa)

Why would a nation give a warrant for communication data associated with a
person, close down that persons bank accounts, and send investigators to
interview people close to the person and request evidence? Those are the
supporting evidence, and while it doesn't conclusively prove anything, some
people would conclude that it is enough to warrant caution.

------
ramblenode
Additional information from two days ago: Ecuador says it will allow Swedish
investigators to question Assange at the embassy on October 17 [0].

If Sweden is serious about this case, they should accept Ecuador's invitation.
Not doing so will further fuel questions about whether this case is a ruse.

[0] [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-sweden-assange-
idU...](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-sweden-assange-
idUSKCN11K1BU)

~~~
alkonaut
if you look just a little further down on the same page there is a link to
another article

"Swedish court upholds Assange warrant, clears way for questioning in October"

[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-sweden-assange-
idU...](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ecuador-sweden-assange-
idUSKCN11M0SH)

So as far as I can see, he _will_ be questioned in place, in October.

------
alkonaut
It's funny how a few years ago Assange was portrayed as a hero fronting this
exciting Wikileaks thing which leaked evidence of war crimes and stood up for
the whistleblowers and the little man.

Now he seems involved in some strange right-wing cabal involving everything
from the Kremlin to Donald Trump? Was he that guy all along, or did he kind of
turn into that side of things while stuck in the embassy?

~~~
wallace_f
Maybe your statement is evidence that it is too easy for those in power to
tarnish the reputations of those which seek to curb their power

~~~
alkonaut
That might explain why he's _portrayed_ as such. I doubt anyone twisted his
arm to force him to do his own show on RT (The state sponsored Russian
Breitbart) however.

~~~
wallace_f
What is wrong with that?

~~~
alkonaut
With being on RT?

Even allowing yourself to be _interviewed_ on RT is discrediting. As I said,
they are a Breitbart-esque state controlled propaganda arm of the Kremlin.

Steven Segal did this before, when he needed some spotlight:

[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/30/rt-russia-
toda...](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/30/rt-russia-todays-six-
most-memorable-moments)

~~~
wallace_f
Even if it is discrediting, which is debatable even if you agree RT is corrupt
(and the largest western media outlets are not?), honestly would you not
expect Assange to partner with foreign states which can offer support? He is
having his life ruined on what looks to be pretty obviously bullshit charges,
that no nation state would pursue in the way they are if it was not for
Assange being seen as a persona non grata of the west.

------
mtgx
The timeline of what happened (according to BBC):

[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11949341](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-
europe-11949341)

What jumps out of to me is that the initial prosecutor said she didn't believe
Assange committed rape, so she dropped the case. But then Sweden's general
prosecutor took the case - why would she do that? Is that typical in Sweden?

Another thing it's not made clear by BBC, although it may have been explained
in other articles or by Assange himself, is how did the two women meet and
already accused him of rape within the span of 3 days?

------
abysmallyideal
Well, Snowden was obviously intelligent on hindsight by completely avoiding
Scandinavia.

~~~
distances
How so?

~~~
feelix
Obviously the assertion here is that Scandinavia will roll over for the US.

------
SixSigma
Maybe he should have contacted the American ambassador to Sweden, or maybe the
US ambassador in the UK :

>Included in the leak was a list of high-profile donors from 2008 and the
ambassadorship they received in exchange for their large donation to the DNC
and Barack Obama’s Organizing For Action (OFA). Essentially, Obama was
auctioning off foreign ambassador positions and other office positions while
Hillary Clinton served as secretary of state. The largest donor listed at
contributions totaling over $3.5 million, Matthew Barzun, served as U.S.
Ambassador to Sweden from 2009 to 2011, served as President Obama’s National
Finance Chair during his 2012 reelection campaign, and now serves as U.S.
Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Oh, I don't think that will help.

------
wallace_f
This is not the first time Sweden has violated human dignity for the sake of
helping out the US. One example: [https://www.hrw.org/news/2006/11/09/sweden-
violated-torture-...](https://www.hrw.org/news/2006/11/09/sweden-violated-
torture-ban-cia-rendition)

~~~
rightnow
What about the dignity of the two girls? They're not worth anything?

~~~
sgift
If the prosecution values their dignity so much it is free to do the interview
per video or by going to London and finish this thing. The options are there,
they just have to use them.

~~~
notahacker
How do they "finish the thing" by being unable to complete the arrest because
he's sitting on foreign territory?

Particularly when the Ecuadorean embassy keeps throwing curve balls by
blocking requests and insisting on asking the questions themselves.

~~~
k1m
By going to him, which they have been happy to do in many other cases, and
have finally agreed to do in this case after the UN criticised the way they
have treated him.

~~~
notahacker
Do you _honestly_ believe both that there will be no further objections by
Ecuadorian embassy staff and that Assange will agree to walk out of the
embassy after the questions are asked and Sweden is allowed to charge him on
October 17th? If not, how can you possibly claim that Sweden have been offered
an opportunity to "finish it"?

------
Numberwang
Good. I'm glad to see public pressure and armchair lawyers being properly
ignored.

~~~
bitJericho
I think if you talk to most American's they'd like to see Assange arrested and
tried. I bet half would like to see him convicted. There is no pressure to
have him pardoned. An e-petition is not pressure at all.

~~~
Numberwang
I'm talking as a Swede about Swedes. The world is upside down here.

------
berntb
You need a bit more information to see the really funny part.

There is presently a scandal in Sweden regarding how bad the Swedish police
and the courts work. The justice system write off cases easily. In many parts
of the country, after office hours there are hours of travel for the closest
police (if they happen to be free).

Recently it was found that the police doesn't just have the lowest solving
percentage in history, they hide that information. And so on.

But in _this_ Assange case, the justice system work hard; it seems they'd
follow Assange to the gates of Hell...

(That said -- imho, no part in that circus has any credibility whatsoever.)

~~~
kalleboo
> But in this case of Assange, the justice system work hard; it seems they'd
> follow Assange to the gates of Hell...

If they'd follow Assange to the gates of Hell, they've just fly to the embassy
and interview him there

~~~
berntb
Sorry, I thought my point was obvious -- it is hilariously obvious that the
tenacity is not about the crime Assange stands accused of.

(I'm not certain if Assange should be sent to a prison in the US or not.
Releasing information, which certainly e.g. China and Russia already have, is
not bad. On the other hand, releasing secret information must be prosecuted
for a state's good.)

~~~
willvarfar
Living in Sweden, so kinda care that the police would work a bit harder. But
its a massive leap to take general statistics and extrapolate that to one of
the most heinous crimes of all - rape. Hopefully the overstretched police are
overlooking the drunks and focusing on the rape and murder cases?

~~~
berntb
You would hope so. In today's news, the police just forgot about when a 72
year old got a gun to his head when visiting a graveyard.

Rather, crime in Sweden is deemed important if a case reach the media. That is
a more likely explanation to the situation (without external influences).

So e.g. the case of the old man getting a gun to his head I noted above will
probably be solved now, if it still is possible after so long a time.

(And e.g. removing the condom during consensual sex, like Assange, is defined
as "rape" in Sweden, but is hardly the upper half of that definition.)

------
Kenji
If you read all the allegations that his 'victims' brought up, you see that
while Assange isn't exactly a gentleman, nothing really bad took place. If
Assange wasn't politically active in the way he is, he would get a slap on the
wrist and move on with his life. It's pretty terrifying how you have to worry
that your own country extradites you to America and this ruins your life even
overseas.

EDIT: Before you reply angrily, please read the exact details of the cases.
It's more subtle than you think. Just saying "but it's rape!" doesn't cut it
here.

~~~
kalleboo
Having unprotected sex with someone who is asleep and previously rejected
unprotected sex is "nothing really bad"? Or did I miss some newer testimony?

------
assangesnowden
You also have to understand the current political climate in Sweden. Assange's
case is the ONLY rape that is disclosed/covered publicly. The 3000% increase
in rapes due to immigration forced the government to ban the reporting on
rapes to prevent racism. That also includes internet censorship, including
foreign news sites.

~~~
ntlve
Do you have a source for that number?

~~~
Tomte
His racism, obviously.

Standard immigrant-hatred. Very much en vogue throughout Europe right now.

