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Although this particular case is highly political and likely fabricated, the tragedy of such a law of limitation applying to rape is sickening. That's not just

by joesmo 11y ago

Although this particular case is highly political and likely fabricated, the tragedy of such a law of limitation applying to rape is sickening. That's not just in Sweden, but many other jurisdictions, including most of the US states. The real question here isn't about Assange--that's an uninteresting political aside. The real question is why do states have a statute of limitations on a crime that's sometimes a lot worse than murder and in the best cases, only slightly less bad? Yes, a statute of limitations is incredibly useful for petty crimes like stealing and other small things like that. We're talking here about rape and sexual assault though. As far as I can see, this is still a reflection on how poorly our societies treat women, even in the west. Perhaps the fact that the men in charge don't want to acknowledge the horror of rape? Women, however, are not the only ones getting raped. I truly cannot fathom the reason for this horrific limitation on justice, and I think if men being raped was more of a problem (outside prisons and jails where the authorities generally refuse to accept it happens) we would have no such limitations on rape or sexual assault.

kiiski 11y ago
As I've understood, the accusation for rape in this case is for Assange starting to have sex with the alleged victim while she was sleeping, without wearing a condom (the "not wearing a condom" is the key part here; otherwise it apparently would have been technically illegal, but "consentual" in practical terms). Are you really saying that that is "only slightly less bad" than murder? The 5 year limit, btw, only applies to the accusations for "Unlawful coercion" and "Sexual molestation" (times two). The rape accusation will remain open for another five years (unless the prosecutor decides to drop it).
- joesmo 11y ago
  Yes, having sex with someone while she/he is sleeping is rape and yes, as far as statute of limitations, it should be treated like murder. The only reason to not make the punishment the same is that it would entice rapists to kill their victims. I think if you ask someone who has been raped how they'd compare that to murder, it'll be pretty damn close. Even ten years is ridiculous for such a crime in a society that condemns this. What you're saying is that our societies don't really condemn this crime and it's not a big deal to ruin someone else's life by forcibly having sex with them. That's horrific, IMO, but seems to be the majority opinion.
danso 11y ago
> Although this particular case is highly political and likely fabricated... Huh?
- joesmo 11y ago
  I think the allegations are likely fabricated to get Assange to Sweden so he can be extradited to the US.
TerryCarlin 11y ago
>We're talking here about rape and sexual assault though. No we're not we're talking about “sex by surprise”. One accuser, Anna Ardin, may have “ties to the US-financed anti-Castro and anti-communist groups,” according to Israel Shamir and Paul Bennett, writing for CounterPunch.
- joesmo 11y ago
  Yeah, that's called rape.
  - TerryCarlin 11y ago
    You are wrong, Believe it or not, sex by surprise is actually not an euphemism for rape. It is sex without a condom after a woman requests it — even if the sex is consensual — and it's fine-able in Sweden by 5,000 kronor (about $715). Source http://www.popsugar.com/love/Sex-Surprise-12390242 http://www.popsugar.com/love/Sex-Surprise-12390242 or http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-surprise-lie http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-s... or http://www.newser.com/story/106802/assange-not-actually-wanted-for-rape.html http://www.newser.com/story/106802/assange-not-actually-want... Given that the CIA have their agenda in this, it's no surprise that Americans believe the main stream media.
    - joesmo 11y ago
      You just proved yourself wrong with your own link: "The allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are pretty straightforward in terms of Swedish law: he's been accused of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. "The charges allege that Assange held one woman down using his body weight to sexually assault her and that he raped another woman while she was sleeping." (http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-surprise-lie http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-s...) Yeah, that's rape. Please stop defending rape. Even if it wasn't considered rape in the law, which it is, it should be.
bruceb 11y ago
"sometimes a lot worse than murder and in the best cases" Statements like this has tinge of judgement that a woman is less "pure" after being raped. This of course is ridiculous. Rape is a horrible crime. I doubt most rape survivors would rather have been murdered.

by joesmo 11y ago

kiiski 11y ago

As I've understood, the accusation for rape in this case is for Assange starting to have sex with the alleged victim while she was sleeping, without wearing a condom (the "not wearing a condom" is the key part here; otherwise it apparently would have been technically illegal, but "consentual" in practical terms). Are you really saying that that is "only slightly less bad" than murder? The 5 year limit, btw, only applies to the accusations for "Unlawful coercion" and "Sexual molestation" (times two). The rape accusation will remain open for another five years (unless the prosecutor decides to drop it).

joesmo 11y ago
Yes, having sex with someone while she/he is sleeping is rape and yes, as far as statute of limitations, it should be treated like murder. The only reason to not make the punishment the same is that it would entice rapists to kill their victims. I think if you ask someone who has been raped how they'd compare that to murder, it'll be pretty damn close. Even ten years is ridiculous for such a crime in a society that condemns this. What you're saying is that our societies don't really condemn this crime and it's not a big deal to ruin someone else's life by forcibly having sex with them. That's horrific, IMO, but seems to be the majority opinion.

danso 11y ago

> Although this particular case is highly political and likely fabricated... Huh?

joesmo 11y ago
I think the allegations are likely fabricated to get Assange to Sweden so he can be extradited to the US.

TerryCarlin 11y ago

>We're talking here about rape and sexual assault though. No we're not we're talking about “sex by surprise”. One accuser, Anna Ardin, may have “ties to the US-financed anti-Castro and anti-communist groups,” according to Israel Shamir and Paul Bennett, writing for CounterPunch.

joesmo 11y ago
Yeah, that's called rape.
- TerryCarlin 11y ago
  You are wrong, Believe it or not, sex by surprise is actually not an euphemism for rape. It is sex without a condom after a woman requests it — even if the sex is consensual — and it's fine-able in Sweden by 5,000 kronor (about $715). Source http://www.popsugar.com/love/Sex-Surprise-12390242 http://www.popsugar.com/love/Sex-Surprise-12390242 or http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-surprise-lie http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-s... or http://www.newser.com/story/106802/assange-not-actually-wanted-for-rape.html http://www.newser.com/story/106802/assange-not-actually-want... Given that the CIA have their agenda in this, it's no surprise that Americans believe the main stream media.
  - joesmo 11y ago
    You just proved yourself wrong with your own link: "The allegations against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are pretty straightforward in terms of Swedish law: he's been accused of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. "The charges allege that Assange held one woman down using his body weight to sexually assault her and that he raped another woman while she was sleeping." (http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-surprise-lie http://jezebel.com/5711600/how-aol-news-started-the-sex-by-s...) Yeah, that's rape. Please stop defending rape. Even if it wasn't considered rape in the law, which it is, it should be.

bruceb 11y ago

"sometimes a lot worse than murder and in the best cases" Statements like this has tinge of judgement that a woman is less "pure" after being raped. This of course is ridiculous. Rape is a horrible crime. I doubt most rape survivors would rather have been murdered.