4 ms·

Pretty outrageous that the prosecutor hasn't questioned him in London by now. This has been a huge police cost and is a great disservice to the alleged victims

by agd 11y ago

Pretty outrageous that the prosecutor hasn't questioned him in London by now. This has been a huge police cost and is a great disservice to the alleged victims who would surely want the case to progress quickly. I haven't seen any plausible reason why the prosecutor couldn't question him in London, especially given the exceptional circumstances of the case. edit: Yes, I have seen the reasons put forward by the SPA mentioned in the article, but these complications were easily foreseeable and it is clear the Swedish prosecutor did not allow enough time to resolve them. Indeed the prosecutor claimed until this march (at which point she changed her mind) that it would be completely impossible to interview Assange at the embassy.

dodgyfella 11y ago
The only exceptional circumstance is Assange's arrogant assertion that he deserves special treatment. No reason why the Swedish justice system should kowtow to his demands.
PJDK 11y ago
This is covered in the article. Sweden has now (as of March) said they would be willing to interview in London. http://www.aklagare.se/In-English/Media/News-in-English1/The-prosecutor-requests-to-interview-Assange-in-London/ http://www.aklagare.se/In-English/Media/News-in-English1/The... http://www.thelocal.se/20150618/swedish-prosecutor-cancels-assange-meeting http://www.thelocal.se/20150618/swedish-prosecutor-cancels-a...
- Bohahahaha 11y ago
  What everyone with that point of view means is this: the prosecutor has had 5 years to fix a potential complex setup but waited for the very last minute.
elemeno 11y ago
The article covered that about half way down - the short version is that the Swedish authorities tried to interview him in London but Ecuador wouldn't let him be interviewed by the Swedish authorities unless Sweden agreed on a pre-condition that they couldn't lawfully agree to. > In March 2015, however, the SPA changed its position and requested to interview Assange in London. A spokesperson for Assange welcomed the development and said Assange wanted to be interviewed. > This was followed in June 2015 by a formal request to the English and Ecuadorean authorities. > But the SPA were not able to proceed as Ecuador did not give the requisite permissions. The trip to London by a Swedish prosecutor had to be abandoned.
- agd 11y ago
  It should be noted that both sides blame the other for the delay. It is also self-evident that this process was (foreseeably) complex and the Swedish prosecutor left it until the last moment to sort out.
hahainternet 11y ago
> Pretty outrageous that the prosecutor hasn't questioned him in London by now. This has been a huge police cost and is a great disservice to the alleged victims who would surely want the case to progress quickly. Which is Assange's fault, as he's fleeing justice at the same time as demanding others face justice. I can't stand the hypocritical bastard, he's damaged his movement more than anyone else ever could.
- Asbostos 11y ago
  But what if he's right about the risk of being extradited from Sweden to the US? If that happens, the US will surely be far more brutal and punish him for Wikileaks things. We've seen them to it to Manning and threaten it to Snowden.
  - hahainternet 11y ago
    Then perhaps he should become a martyr instead of a pariah. I certainly don't think that he can morally justify some of his Wikileaks actions and the resultant drama around it has completely ruined the cause. He has done more to harm the movement for greater transparency than anything else. There are people who quote him saying he doesn't mind the death of civilians as they are complicit due to their actions. This is the motivation used by terorrists.
alkonaut 11y ago
Did you read the article? It's not normally acceptable to demand to be questioned in another country, and when the prosecutor agreed to make an exception, a new (and impossible) condition was added. This is what the author of the article called "calling the bluff".
- agd 11y ago
  Yes I have read the article. The Swedish prosecutor has had at least 3 years to organize questioning in the embassy but has left it until the last moment. Now it appears there is not enough time to sort out the (obviously complex) details. Whose fault it that? The obvious counter-argument to 'calling the bluff' is that the prosecutor has kept the case in limbo for 5 years and then left it too late to organise questioning at the embassy. This allows the prosecutor to save face, and maximises Swedish US relations.
  - youngtaff 11y ago
    Since when have suspected sexual offenders been the ones to set the rules on when and where they're interviewed? Assange has played his supporters and the 'Sweden are going to extradite me to the US' line to avoid facing being questioned over his behaviour
    - agd 11y ago
      Assange is not setting the rules. The Ecuardorians set the rules for questioning in their embassy and the Swedish have no rules against questioning suspects abroad if necessary.
      - youngtaff 11y ago
        Assange is trying to set the rules… He only claimed asylum when British courts rules he should go to Sweden. If he was innocent why did he argue against going to Sweden? He was in greater risk of being extradited to the US from the UK than he was from Sweden!
gadders 11y ago
RTFA
Trombone12 11y ago
Dude, it's not like Assange is chained to a pipe inside the Ecuatorian embassy, he has been free to get a flight to Sweden for YEARS. His continual refusal to do so is not a very convincing reason to concede to his demands, to quote Green: "It is not for any person accused of rape and sexual assault to dictate the terms on which he is investigated, whether it be Assange or otherwise." Some of the complications that have arisen, providing assurances that cannot be given under Swedish law, might well have been foreseen as part of the near futility of the entire attempt to get access to Assange. Also, we can be fairly sure that Assange has no credible evidence for an extradition to the US being planned, as else he would have shared it as soon as it came in his possession.

by agd 11y ago

dodgyfella 11y ago

The only exceptional circumstance is Assange's arrogant assertion that he deserves special treatment. No reason why the Swedish justice system should kowtow to his demands.

PJDK 11y ago

This is covered in the article. Sweden has now (as of March) said they would be willing to interview in London. http://www.aklagare.se/In-English/Media/News-in-English1/The-prosecutor-requests-to-interview-Assange-in-London/ http://www.aklagare.se/In-English/Media/News-in-English1/The... http://www.thelocal.se/20150618/swedish-prosecutor-cancels-assange-meeting http://www.thelocal.se/20150618/swedish-prosecutor-cancels-a...

Bohahahaha 11y ago
What everyone with that point of view means is this: the prosecutor has had 5 years to fix a potential complex setup but waited for the very last minute.

elemeno 11y ago

The article covered that about half way down - the short version is that the Swedish authorities tried to interview him in London but Ecuador wouldn't let him be interviewed by the Swedish authorities unless Sweden agreed on a pre-condition that they couldn't lawfully agree to. > In March 2015, however, the SPA changed its position and requested to interview Assange in London. A spokesperson for Assange welcomed the development and said Assange wanted to be interviewed. > This was followed in June 2015 by a formal request to the English and Ecuadorean authorities. > But the SPA were not able to proceed as Ecuador did not give the requisite permissions. The trip to London by a Swedish prosecutor had to be abandoned.

agd 11y ago
It should be noted that both sides blame the other for the delay. It is also self-evident that this process was (foreseeably) complex and the Swedish prosecutor left it until the last moment to sort out.

hahainternet 11y ago

> Pretty outrageous that the prosecutor hasn't questioned him in London by now. This has been a huge police cost and is a great disservice to the alleged victims who would surely want the case to progress quickly. Which is Assange's fault, as he's fleeing justice at the same time as demanding others face justice. I can't stand the hypocritical bastard, he's damaged his movement more than anyone else ever could.

Asbostos 11y ago
But what if he's right about the risk of being extradited from Sweden to the US? If that happens, the US will surely be far more brutal and punish him for Wikileaks things. We've seen them to it to Manning and threaten it to Snowden.
- hahainternet 11y ago
  Then perhaps he should become a martyr instead of a pariah. I certainly don't think that he can morally justify some of his Wikileaks actions and the resultant drama around it has completely ruined the cause. He has done more to harm the movement for greater transparency than anything else. There are people who quote him saying he doesn't mind the death of civilians as they are complicit due to their actions. This is the motivation used by terorrists.

alkonaut 11y ago

Did you read the article? It's not normally acceptable to demand to be questioned in another country, and when the prosecutor agreed to make an exception, a new (and impossible) condition was added. This is what the author of the article called "calling the bluff".

agd 11y ago
Yes I have read the article. The Swedish prosecutor has had at least 3 years to organize questioning in the embassy but has left it until the last moment. Now it appears there is not enough time to sort out the (obviously complex) details. Whose fault it that? The obvious counter-argument to 'calling the bluff' is that the prosecutor has kept the case in limbo for 5 years and then left it too late to organise questioning at the embassy. This allows the prosecutor to save face, and maximises Swedish US relations.
- youngtaff 11y ago
  Since when have suspected sexual offenders been the ones to set the rules on when and where they're interviewed? Assange has played his supporters and the 'Sweden are going to extradite me to the US' line to avoid facing being questioned over his behaviour
  - agd 11y ago
    Assange is not setting the rules. The Ecuardorians set the rules for questioning in their embassy and the Swedish have no rules against questioning suspects abroad if necessary.
    - youngtaff 11y ago
      Assange is trying to set the rules… He only claimed asylum when British courts rules he should go to Sweden. If he was innocent why did he argue against going to Sweden? He was in greater risk of being extradited to the US from the UK than he was from Sweden!

gadders 11y ago

RTFA

Trombone12 11y ago

Dude, it's not like Assange is chained to a pipe inside the Ecuatorian embassy, he has been free to get a flight to Sweden for YEARS. His continual refusal to do so is not a very convincing reason to concede to his demands, to quote Green: "It is not for any person accused of rape and sexual assault to dictate the terms on which he is investigated, whether it be Assange or otherwise." Some of the complications that have arisen, providing assurances that cannot be given under Swedish law, might well have been foreseen as part of the near futility of the entire attempt to get access to Assange. Also, we can be fairly sure that Assange has no credible evidence for an extradition to the US being planned, as else he would have shared it as soon as it came in his possession.