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In reply to the discussion: Top EU official tells Julian Assange: 'Just go to Sweden and answer the questions' [View all]struggle4progress
(118,281 posts)he next lost on appeal, and then he lost on appeal to the high court, which afterwards gave him further leave to argue against part of the high court decision, a matter which he lost again. Finally the high court gave him a fortnight to appeal to Strasbourg -- instead of which he jumped bail to hide in the embassy
The Belmarsh magistrate's findings are extraordinarily informative, insofar as they debunk one claim after another made by Assange and his followers, for example,:
(1) The claim that Assange left Sweden with permission was thoroughly discredited: Assange left Sweden after his lawyer was informed Assange was about to be arrested and while the Swedish prosecutors were attempting to schedule further contact with him -- and Assange's lawyer was caught misinforming the court on this point
(2) Assange and his lawyer never argued in court that Assange could be sent from Sweden to the US and could then be tortured or killed: the only evidence provided on this point was provided by one of Assange's own witnesses, who said explicitly that forward extradition to the US from Sweden was a political impossibility
(3) The claim that behavior, alleged of Assange in Sweden, would not be criminal in the UK, was explicitly considered by the magistrate, who concluded that Assange's alleged behavior would definitely qualify as rape in the UK
(4) The claim that the Swedish prosecutors "only want Assange for questioning" was shown to be a misrepresentation, based on differences between UK and Swedish procedure: Belmarsh concluded that Assange is wanted in Sweden so that the Swedes can prosecute him for sexual crimes, including rape
Unfortunately, Assange and his supporters have continued to make these claims, long after being refuted in open court