Sweden's Supreme Court upholds Assange detention order

[Bosonic]

Source: Reuters

Sweden's Supreme Court said on Monday it rejected an appeal by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to revoke a detention order over allegations of sexual assault.

The 43-year-old Australian has been stuck inside Ecuador's London embassy since June 2012 to avoid a British extradition to Sweden, which wants to question him on allegations of sexual assault.

The detention order was issued by prosecutors in 2010. Assange denies the allegations and says he fears that if Britain extradited him to Sweden he would then be extradited to the United States where he could be tried for one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history.

The court said in a statement that the prosecutors' decision to question Assange in London supported the ruling to uphold the detention order.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/05/11/uk-sweden-assange-idUKKBN0NW0FX20150511

[Cha]

1. Thank you, Bosonic. Julian Assange unlikely to face U.S. charges over publishing classified document

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/julian-assange-unlikely-to-face-us-charges-over-publishing-classified-documents/2013/11/25/dd27decc-55f1-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html

What's the real reason assange doesn't want to face his accusers in Sweden?

[Chan790]

2. Perhaps he's guilty and the idea of prison in Sweden is slightly less appealing...

than self-imposed incarceration in an embassy in London?

[MADem]

21. Do they have internet and take-away food in Swedish prisons, I wonder?

I thought those northern European prisons were all fuzzy and friendly...?

[freshwest]

22. That's what I've read. Even sex offenders and mass murderers are rehabilitated humanely with an eye

to being returned to free society.

They have a different outlook that seems vastly superior to our half lenient, half medieval system.

Of course, there is a chance he will be subjected to the lutfish torture that he may fear more than the USA.

[Sgt Preston]

7. "What's the real reason"?

You sure have some nasty innuendo going there.

From your link:

The Justice Department has all but concluded it will not bring charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for publishing classified documents because government lawyers said they could not do so without also prosecuting U.S. news organizations and journalists, according to U.S. officials.

The officials stressed that a formal decision has not been made, and a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks remains impaneled....

Anyone who trusts the "all but concluded" pronouncements of the US Justice Department is naïve. Remember Holder's flip flop on medical marijuana prosecutions? It was like baiting a trap.

[cstanleytech]

9. The US will never issue a blanket statement that they will never seek to prosecute him or anyone.

At most they might issue one saying along the lines that at this time they have no intention of seeking an indictment unless new evidence emerges like for example in Assages case (and this is only example) evidence was to be uncovered to to show he was paid by the Russian government to ferret out and post that information.
That would put a different spin on things and in that case the US might well decide to pursue a case against him.

[freshwest]

13. I'm only here for the popcorn and to answer your question:

He's afraid of Sweden because they'll make him eat lutfish. That is some seriously awful stuff...

Lutefisk is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling is also used) treated with lye. The first step is soaking the stockfish in cold water for five to six days (with the water changed daily). The saturated stockfish is then soaked in an unchanged solution of cold water and lye for an additional two days. The fish swells during this soaking, and its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent, producing a jelly-like consistency.

When this treatment is finished, the fish (saturated with lye) is caustic, with a pH of 11–12. To make the fish edible,* a final treatment of yet another four to six days of soaking in cold water (also changed daily) is needed. Eventually, the lutefisk is ready to be cooked.

In Finland, the traditional reagent used is birch ash. It contains high amounts of potassium carbonate and bicarbonate, giving the fish a more mellow treatment than would lye. It is important not to incubate the fish too long in the lye because saponification of the fish fats may occur.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk

*I'll be the judge of that!

Being forced to eat that, is torture. So Sir Julian is correct, despite his complaints about the quality of his meals from Harrod's delivered to him.



Attribution: "Confectionery counter, Harrods Food Hall, London" by Anna Anichkova - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confectionery_counter,_Harrods_Food_Hall,_London.jpg#/media/File:Confectionery_counter,_Harrods_Food_Hall,_London.jpg

Don't worry, he's gonna be fine.

[Cha]

34. ..

me too..

[Demeter]

3. Another good reason to vote Bernie Sanders into the White House

He can put an end to this ridiculous farce.

[hack89]

4. How?

Do you think Assange would trust any promise the US made? Secondly, Bernie can't keep him out of a Swedish court to face rape charges.

[azureblue]

12. oh jeez

it's not a "rape" charge. It's unwanted sex - two entirely different things under Swedish law, the second being a misdemeanor.. Originally rejected because of a weak case (both women let him stay around, even fix breakfast for him, after the alleged and unsupported "unwanted sex&quot , the present prosecutor swept in and took the case away from the original prosecutor and refiled the charges with no additional evidence.

[hack89]

15. Go read the four charges in his arrest warrant

The Swedes called it rape. The British high court ruled that his actions would be considered rape in the UK. Stop minimizing his crimes.

[laserhaas]

17. Bull Chit... minimizing.... HE's not guilty of any crime

the one gal was with him with international leaders.... days later.

She was sitting next to him with high hopes of becoming his right hand.

Karl Rove is involved here and the attorney for the gals is the former prosecutor of the country who yanked 2 citizens away to Egypt - and were tortured.

"I can see from the text messages, in which the complainants speak of 'revenge', obtaining money and speaking about Assange in the press, that they may have a hidden agenda, which casts serious doubt on their accusations," Bjorn Hurtig said in a statement before Tuesday's hearing.

Hurtig, who is due to give evidence at the high security Belmarsh Magistrate's court , added that the case against Assange was one of the "weakest" he had ever seen.

A judge of the Sweden high court greatly dissented and says the arrest warrant should be lifted. Another former prosecutor states the case is an embarrassment to the country.

One of the five Supreme Court judges dissented and argued for the arrest warrant to be lifted.

If ROVE is involved (and he most certainly IS) - then all else is Bull CHIT!

[hack89]

20. The women have not withdrawn their accusations

They are the victims here - smearing rape victims is not a progressive value.

[laserhaas]

31. Don't Talk that BULL crap to me. I'm a victim of sexual abuse

and part of the "One in Five" and "Tree Climbers" activism to stop sexual abuse.

It is a common ploy of bad faith parties to label a name upon someone that is down right ugly, in order to achieve an evil goal. All one has to do in a crowd is holler "Look, that guy is on the sexual predators list"

and BLAM - everyone starts distancing themselves.
[br][hr][br]

Nothing gets in my craw worse, even than Romney and Goldman Sachs corruption/ organized crimes - than those who rush to judgment - simply because of name calling.

Of course the girls haven't withdrawn their claims;
Rove and the corrupt prosecutors would destroy them.

They have NO hope left for money or glory -

other than an Assange defeat!

[hack89]

43. So the victims lied for "money or glory"- nice smear

Last edited Tue May 12, 2015, 09:29 AM - Edit history (1)

I think we are done here.

[laserhaas]

45. You are the one evading facts and doing smearing

and then using this "not progressive" twist - to justify your hate.

GET REAL!

[hack89]

46. Rape, Sexual molestation and Unlawful coercion - that is what you are defending

This is what Assange is accused of. Look at those details and tell me - were the women lying?

1. Unlawful coercion

On 13-14 August 2010, in the home of the injured party [AA] in Stockholm. Assange, by using violence. forced the injured party to endure his restricting her freedom of movement. The violence consisted in a firm hold of the injured party's arms and a forceful spreading of her legs whilst lying on top of her and with his body weight preventing her from moving or shifting.

2. Sexual molestation

On 13-14 August 2010, in the home of the injured party [AA] in Stockholm, Assange deliberately molested the injured party by acting in a manner designed to violate her sexual integrity. Assange, who was aware that it was the expressed wish of the injured party and a prerequisite of sexual intercourse that a condom be used, consummated unprotected sexual intercourse with her without her knowledge.

3. Sexual molestation

On 18 August 2010 or on any of the days before or after that date, in the home of the injured party [AA] in Stockholm, Assange deliberately molested the injured party by acting in a manner designed to violate her sexual integrity i.e. lying next to her and pressing his naked, erect penis to her body.

4. Rape

On 17 August 2010, in the home of the injured party [SW] in Enkoping, Assange deliberately consummated sexual intercourse with her by improperly exploiting that she, due to sleep. was in a helpless state.

It is an aggravating circumstance that Assange. who was aware that it was the expressed wish of the injured party and a prerequisite of sexual intercourse that a condom be used. still consummated unprotected sexual intercourse with her. The sexual act was designed to violate the injured party's sexual integrity."

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/2849.html

[laserhaas]

47. You keep making a B.S. argument; when other FACTS speak LOUDLY

Number 1 - Karl Rove is involved (should be end of story).

For the charges came as Assange was nailing the case on our corrupt military's arse.

As per CNN (here);

April 5, 2010 - WikiLeaks posts a video showing a U.S. military helicopter firing on and killing two journalists and a number of Iraqi civilians in 2007. The military claims that the helicopter crew believed the targets were armed insurgents, not civilians.

July 25, 2010 - WikiLeaks posts more than 90,000 classified documents related to the Afghanistan war.

August 20, 2010 - Swedish prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for Assange based on allegations of sexual assault from two female WikiLeaks volunteers.

August 21, 2010 - The Swedish prosecutor's office announces it is rescinding the arrest warrant.

August 31, 2010 - Assange is questioned by Stockholm police and told of the charges against him.

October 22, 2010 - WikiLeaks publishes classified military documents from the Iraq war.

November 20, 2010 - The Stockholm Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Assange.

[br][hr][br]

The reason why others and myself are not listened to, about sexual abuse, is because people like you have a veiled agenda and make up phony cases to serve evil purposes.

Stop being part of the problem and making up bull crap;
and be (as you say) a real progressive - who looks at facts

Not Fiction

[hack89]

48. So the victims are lying. Karl Rove is the behind the scenes mastermind.

Got it.

[laserhaas]

50. I'm SO sick of this Bull C H I T.... almost everyone is being duped.

Assange was never accused of rape (by the 2 girls).

You can't argue that the girls are LYING

--------------------- when they never stated what someone else is mouthing!

I'm going to take everyone to the FACT sheet - extraordinary;
and show the deceptions of lame stream (and David Allen Green).

[okaawhatever]

52. Assange was accused of having sex with one of the women while she was asleep. That is when

he didn't use the condom. She had sex with him, and was one of his biggest supporters, earlier in the evening. She insisted he wear a condom. He didn't want to. While she was asleep he began having sex with her.

Someone who is asleep can't consent. Whether it is considered sexual assault or rape is a legal question. What he did is despicable, and the idea that the US is somehow involved is preposterous. If the US was going to frame him, there would be a great deal of evidence, don't you think?

[Nye Bevan]

23. Ummmm..... so "unwanted sex" is somehow not "rape" any more?

When did this happen? And does this apply only to DU folk heroes?

[Chan790]

26. We don't agree on much it seems usually...

but it really is that cut-and-dried.

Non-consensual sex is rape. In so far as he allegedly had non-consensual sex with these women...he stands accused of rape.

The fact of his guilt or innocence is a question for a jury in a court of law, not DU.

[Enthusiast]

5. PLUS ONE, a huge bunch!

Who in their right mind would trust US and British intelligence after what we have seen in the past few decades. A force for good, indeed.

[Nye Bevan]

24. Yep, Bernie would soon straighten all of this out.

Assange would be back home in no time, a free man.

[Tarheel_Dem]

38. Bernie Sanders has about as much chance of occupying the WH as Rand Paul or Ted Cruz. Write it down.

[Recursion]

41. Sorry, has Sanders said something about Assange that I missed?

Really, why do you think that?

[randome]

6. Oh, great, now Sweden's supreme court can be added to the list of conspirators!

1. U.S.
2. U.K.
3. Australia.
4. The Swedish women.
5. The U.K. appeals court.
6. Swedish prosecutors.
7. Swedish supreme court.

Did I leave anyone out?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"Everybody is just on their feet screaming 'Kill Kill Kill'! This is hockey Conservative values!"[/center][/font][hr]

[freshwest]

14. Maybe this guy:

[Cha]

33. Yep, the "conspiracy" thickens!

[hack89]

44. Carl Rove. Nt

[candelista]

8. Hatred for Assange and Snowden

A lot of the hatred on DU for Assange and Snowden is for perceived political reasons. Both men have said libertarian-leaning things in the past, and this condemns them forever in the eyes of those for whom ideology trumps everything. Frankly I don't care what their politics are. They have both performed a great public service in exposing the illegal and immoral activities of the US government. This service benefits the overwhelming majority of the American people, regardless of their political views.

[cstanleytech]

10. For me its not hatred because I just dont care one way or the other if

they ever prosecute Assage because as far as I ca tell he didnt do anything illegal or atleast he didnt imo if he was outside the US when he was dealing with Snowden thus I dont see how the US would jurisdiction over him on any case and even if he did do it inside the US it looks to me like its a minor issue.
Snowden on the other hand needs to come back back and have his day in court because he did break the law and he should try to see about making a plea deal and try for maybe 1 - 10 years of parole assuming the federal system has parole but thats based on what we know now and I think personally 1 - 10 years of parole is pretty lenient unless of course something would be uncovered to show he did something truly vile like say if he sold additional information to the Russians for safe harbor or to the Chinese for money both of which would then put a different spin on it and sink any claims of him doing this because he thought the US was breaking the law.

[Tarheel_Dem]

28. "This service benefits the overwhelming majority of the American people"?

An "overwhelming majority of the American People" think he's an asshole, and I agree.


Edward Snowden Unpopular at Home, A Hero Abroad, Poll Finds

The whistleblower is viewed negatively by 64 percent of Americans familiar with him, results say.

By Steven Nelson April 21, 2015 | 6:11 p.m. EDT

A poll of Americans and people living in nine other Western countries has found exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden is far more popular abroad than he is at home.

Snowden, a contractor who worked with the National Security Agency, ignited an intense, ongoing global policy debate about mass surveillance in June 2013 by exposing the collection of vast amounts of phone and Internet records and communications by the NSA and allied intelligence agencies.

For his efforts, about 64 percent of Americans familiar with Snowden hold a negative opinion of him, according to KRC Research poll results shared with U.S. News. Thirty-six percent hold a positive opinion, with just 8 percent holding a very positive opinion.

The survey was commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union, which provides legal representation to Snowden, who received asylum in Russia after the U.S. canceled his passport.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/04/21/edward-snowden-unpopular-at-home-a-hero-abroad-poll-finds


It appears the more awards he collects, and the more praise he receives abroad the more despised he becomes at home. The numbers just keep getting worse. I hope he's prepared himself for a much longer stay behind the Iron Curtain than he anticipated. With numbers like that, I doubt he wants to be tried in an American court of law right now.

You & the guys from the daily paul who post here, obviously fall in the 8%. According to this poll, that "hatred" you speak of cannot be so easily dismissed as being confined to DU. It appears to have broken out all over. Of course that's the risk when Americans think you've become an enemy agent for the Kremlin.

[candelista]

29. Your filthy post and ad populum fallacy does not lend credence to your opinion.

Invective and appeal to majority opinion is an inadequate substitute for thinking.

[Tarheel_Dem]

30. Just thought you should know what you're talking about b/4 speaking for a "majority of Americans".

The fact that he's viewed negatively by the "majority" of us is not "opinion". It's there in black & white, and ironically it was commissioned by the people who are defending him. The results kinda bit 'em in the ass, doncha think?

[Cha]

32. HAHA.. what a CLEAN Post you

made, Tarheel!

Definitely got the right goat

[Tarheel_Dem]

35. Well, I just think when one presumes to speak for "a majority" of us, one should speak truthfully.

How's by you, Cha?

[Cha]

36. Yeah, but that matters NOT to those who espouse

such drivel..

[azureblue]

11. a simple question

well, actually three:

since this is a misdemeanor charge:

1a- there is precedent for conducting interviews via CCTV, actually a common thing to do in Europe, but Swedish prosecutors refuse to do that in this case. Why?

1b - So why doesn't Sweden interview him face to face inside the Embassy?

2 - Why did this prosecutor take the case away from the original prosecutor when it was originally determined that there was not enough evidence to prosecute, and what evidence there was, and the circumstances made the case weak? And there still has not been any more evidence come to light to support escalation of the original charge?

I'd say that his fears are well grounded.....

[hack89]

16. He was charged with four felonies including rape

Go read the charges in his arrest warrant before you embarrass yourself further.

[laserhaas]

18. Concur! VERY well grounded.... Too much bull chit going on here

Including who is representing the girls.... that they were with him - AFTER the purported occasion; and

KARL ROVE is involved

nothing else be said - that this is all Bull Chit

[Chan790]

27. Well, beyond the fact that the charges are felonies and not misdemeanors...

there is the question of ability to incarcerate if convicted. No law enforcement body with jurisdiction to enforce criminal conviction in Sweden has authority to take him into custody against his will for purposes of incarceration from within the Ecuadorian embassy.

It would be utterly pointless to do any of those things without a writ from the government of Ecuador specifying that he will be taken into custody and deported under force to Sweden if convicted in-absentia and will not be allowed to leave the grounds of the embassy subsequent to writ in order to avoid deportation to Sweden under conviction.

Basically...Ecuador would have to agree to:

a.) detain him immediately. (Nothing more or less than take away his currently-held ability to leave when he wants to.)
b.) agree that they will extradite him to Sweden to serve his sentence if convicted.

As long as they continue to not do those two things...there is no point to a CCTV or in-person interview. He could confess guilt to the whole thing and Sweden would have few/no means to compel the embassy to turn him over to be tried and sentenced. On #2...it's not uncommon in any legal system with hierarchies of prosecution with overlapping jurisdictions for a lower prosecutorial body to be overruled by a higher one.

[Recursion]

42. Rape is not a misdemeanor, even in Sweden

Why did this prosecutor take the case away from the original prosecutor when it was originally determined that there was not enough evidence to prosecute, and what evidence there was, and the circumstances made the case weak?

OK, I want you to read this bolded clause, and read it well. And I want you to really ponder it: because the suspect fled.

Assange has never, ever been threatened with indictment or extradition from the US. Ever. It has not happened. That is an Assange fanboy fantasy.

He fled the second the women (yes, women) accused him of rape and sexual assault.

This does not mean his leaks are wrong. Rapists are capable of disseminating useful valid information.

[EX500rider]

19. So the US could extradite him from Sweden but not the MUCH closer ally the UK?

Seems unlikely.

[Nye Bevan]

25. If the US had wanted him they could have got him from the UK in a heartbeat

prior to him holing up in the Ecuadorian embassy. All this ridiculous conspiracy stuff is just about an accused rapist wanting to avoid a trial.

[Tarheel_Dem]

37. What's most disheartening is to see "progressives" defend this piece of crap. He should go home....

face the charges, and stop using the US as his scapegoat. Whatever happened with the Swedish prosecutors who were supposed to interview him in London. Wasn't that what he claimed he wanted?

[cemaphonic]

39. Did you see this quote from his lawyer in the article?

"We are of course disappointed, and critical of the Supreme Court's way of handling the case. This decision has been taken without letting us close our argument," Assange's lawyer Per Samuelson told Reuters.

Takes some moxie to spend 5+ years thumbing your nose at a nation's legal system, and then crying foul when they come to the shocking conclusion, that yes, they would still like to put you on trial.

I wonder if it ever occurs to him that he would probably be done (or mostly done) with his sentence even if found guilty. Instead, he still has all that in front of him, plus the bail jumping issue. Dude's wasting his life playing at Public Enemy #1.

[freshwest]

40. Moxie, yes. One percenters are rather arrogant by nature. Jail is for the lesser mortals.

That and other inconveniences which *they* should not be subjected to... Because.

[laserhaas]

49. Assange's entire career (including WANK) has been hacking for truth

WANK (btw) is {hack} Worms Against Nuclear Killers.

In 2008, the US Army Counterintelligence Center designated WikiLeaks a potential threat to the military.

In October 2014, several media reported that Assange is going to launch a range of clothing and accessories in partnership with the Indian manufacturer Franchise India.
Assange won the Amnesty International UK Media Award in 2009 for a series of materials exposing corruption in Kenya. In November 2011, Australian journalists awarded WikiLeaks the Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.
In 2010, Assange received the Time readers' choice award for person of the year.
In 2010, Assange was placed 58th in Guardian's annual list of the top 100 most influential figures in UK media.


Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20141207/1015575939.html#ixzz3Zvru1ec6

[br][hr][br]

Items of note = pre and post charges.....that no one ever talks about...

Assange won the Amnesty International UK Media Award in 2009 for a series of materials exposing corruption in Kenya.

In November 2011, Australian journalists awarded WikiLeaks the Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.

In 2010, Assange received the Time readers' choice award for person of the year.

In 2010, Assange was placed 58th in Guardian's annual list of the top 100 most influential figures in UK media.

[br][hr][br]

To not even consider that the charges are a fabrication by an embarrassed corporate militarized machine -

is just plain BULL!

[leveymg]

51. So much for the false meme Swedes wouldn't lock him up.

This whole thing was a honey trap engineered in Sweden by a "friendly" western intelligence agency. I give these charges no credence.