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Crime United Kingdom

Assange's Lawyers: Follow Swedish Law, Interrogate Him In the UK 377

concertina226 writes "Lawyers representing Julian Assange have demanded that he be questioned in London over rape and sexual molestation allegations. 'Prosecutor Marianne Ny must ... start treating him as everybody else who is under suspicion. Assuming that the prosecutor does not have a prejudiced opinion regarding the question of guilt, and is prepared to treat the different versions objectively, it is obvious that an interrogation with Julian Assange would benefit everybody, including the injured parties,' the lawyers wrote."
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Assange's Lawyers: Follow Swedish Law, Interrogate Him In the UK

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  • Internal politics? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by uffe_nordholm ( 1187961 ) on Thursday February 13, 2014 @06:58AM (#46236851)
    There may very well be good reason for JA to not want being extradited to Sweden, but there may be other reasons than discussed previously here that explain why the Swedish authorities are acting the way they are.

    One reason is that the prosecutor in charge of the case may have found herself a useful tool that she can use to further her own ambitions in something completely unrelated: she is known to be a feminist and has stated in at least one interview that it must be possible to punish men even after a court has found them to be innocent. She is also a member of the same political party as one of the (possible) victims. Which just happens to be the same political party to which the defense attorney belongs! My conclusion is that the suspicion of internal politics cannot be put to rest until more evidence appears.

    -----------

    Just to point out a few strange facts in this sordid case:
    - JA found out he was wanted for questioning not by being told be the authorities, but by being told be the media. I cannot remember another case where this has happened.
    - the prosecutors office called a press conference to announce JA was wanted for questioning. I have never heard of them doing anything similar in any other case.
    - the two (possible) victims of rape have the same lawyer. Also this is a first: it does not matter how many victims are involved in a court case, they get their own lawyer and do not share this lawyer with anybody else involved in the same case.

    -----------

    Full disclosure: I live in Sweden and it is my personal opinion that the prosecutor handling this case at the moment is doing so for personal reasons and should be removed from her position.
    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by ledow ( 319597 )

      Then argue for mistrial.
      Argue for undue process.
      Argue for an unfair trial.
      Argue against the law that says you can't have one lawyer represent two people in a case (sorry, "class action lawsuit"? Why wouldn't you allow this unless there was a specific conflict of interest? And in this case, the "interest" is in bringing the same guy in both cases for the same crime. "Sorry, your honour, but my opponent can't have that lawyer as he once represented someone in a similar case?", no not unless there's a speci

      • by durin ( 72931 )

        "Assange is avoiding ARREST"

        Well, technically, he's avoiding a hearing on Swedish soil, which really isn't a criminal offense.

      • Ah no, he's avoiding extradition to the United States where he would most assuredly be tortured, put through a sham military trial and then never heard from again. I wont even argue if he's guilty of the allegations in Sweden. He certainly should face the authorities on that, but not at the risk of his own life. Secret courts and secret rulings have a tendency to screw up "Justice"

  • He will (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ledow ( 319597 ) on Thursday February 13, 2014 @07:07AM (#46236887) Homepage

    He'll stand in a British court.

    To answer the charge of skipping bail, contempt of court, etc. Then he can - LIKE HE ALWAYS COULD HAVE - argue that he should be legitimately put on trial in a "friendly" country. And he'll go through the legal system, same as anyone else. And then the legal system will decide if the law allows him to or not (I imagine it would be hard to argue UK jurisdiction over Swedish charges performed by an Australian, but it's not infeasible if enough prejudice could be proven).

    Problem is, you didn't want to argue that several years ago. And you skipped bail, so we have no reason to believe it's not a delaying / avoidance tactic. So now you'll stand in a British court, probably be imprisoned by us for skipping bail for so long and so deliberately, and then WILL NOT ESCAPE our custody if they are required to hand you over to the Swedish anyway. Which they probably are, given the way EU law works.

    Fact is, I'd have had much more respect if he'd done his play to cameras, and then just followed through the legal system properly. We would have all kept an eye on it to make sure suspicious things didn't happen, and at no point would you have broken the law.

    But he didn't. He went through the courts and when he didn't get the answer he wanted, he skipped bail deliberately. So go rot in jail for a year or two FIRST and then you can come back to the original rape-charge issue and we'll think about it.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      Fact is, I'd have had much more respect if he'd done his play to cameras, and then just followed through the legal system properly.

      Why? I don't find stupidity to be wothy of respect.

      He followed through the legal system as far as it went and his extradition to Sweden was imminent.

      The thing is, Sweden have a proven history of being active in extraordinary renditions---sending people to be tortured by the CIA---and the Swedish authorities refused to confirm that he wouldn't be bundled straight off to the US. C

      • by ledow ( 319597 )

        Except when he'll rot in jail for a year or two and THEN get tortured by the CIA.

        Point is, he's achieved nothing that puts people on his side, especially not the Brits who are paying to supervise the embassy, in trade negotiations with the embassy, and who'll have to charge him when he comes out, and then inevitably jail him BEFORE doing exactly what we were doing anyway (which, I'd like to point out, we followed through as much as legally possible, even refusing several extradition orders on the basis that

        • by MrMickS ( 568778 )

          Assange strikes me as someone that's lost in his own self importance. He's become more important than Wikileaks. This often happens to people placed in the spotlight. The reports of his actions in Sweden don't paint him in a very good light.

          All that said is doesn't make any sense, other than flexing of muscles, for the Swedish Prosecutor not to call his bluff and interrogate him in the UK (or Ecuador as he is at the moment). Its just posturing and dick waving on behalf of the Prosecutor not to do it. If the

        • Re:He will (Score:4, Informative)

          by jez9999 ( 618189 ) on Thursday February 13, 2014 @08:48AM (#46237359) Homepage Journal

          Point is, he's achieved nothing that puts people on his side, especially not the Brits who are paying to supervise the embassy

          Speak for yourself. I'm a Brit and if I had any real say in our so-called democracy, my tax money would be being used to send Assange on a flight to Ecuador and tell Sweden and the US to fuck off and stop wasting everybody's time.

          • by DarkOx ( 621550 )

            I don't know what the rules are in the UK, in the US there are legal actions an other citizen might file to try and force a prosecutor or district attorney's office take some action they are ostensibly legally required to do such as charging someone who is widely suspected to be violating the law.

            These are rarely successful though for reasons of standing. Is there really anything standing in the way of UK executive agencies for just saying "you know Assange just isn't a threat to the population and therefo

      • The thing is, Sweden have a proven history of being active in extraordinary renditions---sending people to be tortured by the CIA---and the Swedish authorities refused to confirm that he wouldn't be bundled straight off to the US.

        And the UK has also been implicated in the extraordinary rendition stuff. And there was a big scandal about it in Sweden (over the 2 people who were subject to it), and a big international investigation, and chances are that some people in Sweden would have got in a lot of trouble

    • Re:He will (Score:5, Insightful)

      by pantaril ( 1624521 ) on Thursday February 13, 2014 @08:01AM (#46237107)

      Fact is, I'd have had much more respect if he'd done his play to cameras, and then just followed through the legal system properly. We would have all kept an eye on it to make sure suspicious things didn't happen, and at no point would you have broken the law.

      Suspicious things already did happen. Interpol invovlemnt in this kind of charges is unheard of. The constant monitoring of his residence by several UK policemens is also unheard of. The whole sequence of events after the "sexual assault" case his highly suspicious (he was questioned, than he was released and told he can travel off the country, after he did it, suddenly, both of the "victims" changed their minds and he is wanted for another questioning again). All of this makes me believe that this is indeed political case and mr. Assange is right to be afraid to travel to sweeden.

      • by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

        Interpol invovlemnt in this kind of charges is unheard of.

        Any state can report a suspect to Interpol if the suspect is believed to have gone to another country or is on the run. And in any case, it's not like Interpol has SWAT teams flying all over the world with automatic weapons in black helicopters-it's a liason organization that facilitates cooperation between the law enforcement of other states. Their agents do not make arrests or even conduct investigations: they provide data, logistics, reporting, and coordination services. Any member state can report a

  • by mal0rd ( 323126 ) on Thursday February 13, 2014 @07:48AM (#46237055)

    I'm really surprised how many highly rated comments claim extradition from the UK would be easier. Extradition from Sweden to the US would almost certainly happen. Take for example this fact: [justice4assange.com]

    Sweden has a bilateral agreement with the United States which would allow it to surrender Julian Assange without going through the traditional tests and standards of regular, lengthy extradition procedures.

    How could anyone reasonably expect him to willfully submit to that? It seems highly likely he would end up rotting in a US jail for life, unheard and unseen.

    • So, a pro-Assange website asserts this. Is there any REAL evidence that this is true?

    • "How could anyone reasonably expect him to willfully submit to that? It seems highly likely he would end up rotting in a US jail for life, unheard and unseen."

      You are obviously not from the US so let me explain this to you. Our Constitution guarantees a right to a speedy trial. If JA wants a speedy trial, he'll get one, and will not "rot in a US jail for life" unless he was convicted and given a life sentence (Which in the US translates to roughly 10 years depending on your age and the leniency of your
  • by GameboyRMH ( 1153867 ) <gameboyrmh@@@gmail...com> on Thursday February 13, 2014 @08:16AM (#46237199) Journal

    This doesn't get mentioned enough:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2... [theregister.co.uk]

  • And, like everyone else, the prosecutor should interrogate him in the town/city where the crime was committed.

    Refusing to return to the country with jurisdiction and demanding to be interrogated in a third country is special treatment.
  • If this argument had any legal standing it would present it in court not in the media. IMHO it is just another example of the Assange's egotism and narcissism

"Being against torture ought to be sort of a multipartisan thing." -- Karl Lehenbauer, as amended by Jeff Daiell, a Libertarian

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