8 ms·

Just for people questioning whether this is a dirty trick or not: 1) From what I know, there hasn't been any mentionable cases where the Swedish police has bee

Just for people questioning whether this is a dirty trick or not: 1) From what I know, there hasn't been any mentionable cases where the Swedish police has been either bribed or done something questionable. At least not in recent time. 2) The two women went to the police for consulting about the two claimed events. The police looked at both cases, and decided that both cases were serious enough to prosecute Assange. The two women did apparently not want to prosecute Assange due to his "position of power". (From expressen.se - Whether that's reliable or not) The most reasonable to guess if Assange has not raped them, is that the girls are lying. However, I'm questioning whether it's easy to make a horrible foolproof lie so bad that the police wants to prosecute him. No, I'm not going to guess on anything at the current moment. I'm going to wait until all the facts have been laid on the table. Much easier that way.

rickmb 16y ago
On what do you base this first claim? Because a little Google search on the subject of Swedish police and corruption turns up quite a number of (recent) hits. Not to mention the legally dubious raids by the Swedish police on the hosters of the Piratebay, that seemed to have been bought and paid for by Hollywood. By the way, is it normal police procedure in Sweden to tell the world's media that some dude is wanted for rape within a few hours of the accusation?
- Hagelin 16y ago
  It was reported by the media after an arrest warrant was issued.
- JeanPierre 16y ago
  My first claim was rather weak: It was just from my own knowledge and experience with Swedish police and the lack of news regarding corruption with them involved. If a Google search says otherwise, then I must have missed those corruption-cases. Sorry! > By the way, is it normal police procedure in Sweden to tell the world's media that some dude is wanted for rape within a few hours of the accusation? I would suppose that the media would sniff out as much information as fast as possible regarding Assange, because of his position. Also Expressen claimed certain things other media channels couldn't. E.g. all Norwegian newspapers cited Expressen.se for the information, and whenever they tried to get a confirmation from the Swedish police, they only got things such as "I can confirm that he is indicted. But since this is a delicate matter, I can not comment on the investigation beyond that."
rue 16y ago
The two women also know eachother, according to Expressen.
- genieyclo 16y ago
  Expressen is a tabloid.
  - rue 16y ago
    True, but that by itself does not invalidate their supposedly sourced reporting.
stfp 16y ago
Why do you think the police would need to be bribed or anything to record a claim & decide to prosecute ? I wouldn't be surprised if they were bound to investigate/prosecute (by law) in such cases. Only thing I don't get is how on earth you'd be able to argue that Assange has a "position of power" or that you fear him - is he some kind of uber-rich tycoon or politically connected kingpin or something ? Or did they fear he'd wikileak their private facebook ? To me it's textbook character assassination - even if the claims are withdraws (maybe especially if they are without an investigation or trial), people will vaguely remember this and Assange will be 'tainted' forever. I'm not saying well-known people don't do bad shit (Polanski ?) but some kind of hard evidence (a rape-kit confirmed DNA match) would have / would be most welcome in this spooks-rich context.
jonknee 16y ago
... And the warrant has been withdrawn. Apparently they were lying. That was quick, I thought we'd have to wait for weeks before getting to the facts.
- Hagelin 16y ago
  > *Apparently they were lying. Apparent based on what? The prosecutor hasn’t made any such statement?
  - jonknee 16y ago
    The dropped charges. What else besides the accuser(s) lying could be the reason they would be dropped so quickly?
    - Hagelin 16y ago
      If I’ve understood correctly, the warrant was issued by an on-duty prosecutor and overturned by a chief prosecutor. It could be a simple revaluation of whether or not the accusation falls within the legal definition of rape, whether or not there were sufficient grounds for a warrant, etc.
    - erikpukinskis 16y ago
      Rape victims have to go through an incredible amount of bullshit to actually get their rapists put behind bars. This includes: 1) Talking about and reliving the experience over and over and over to police, prosecutors, judges, juries, family and friends, delaying your ability to "move on". 2) Being mercilessly attacked by legal challenge from your rapist, including attempts to defame your character (defense attorneys trying to prove you are a "slut"), and whatever else they can throw at you to try and make your life miserable so you'll drop the charges. 3) Significant legal expenses. The fortitude required to actually see a rape case through is immense. Assuming that because someone dropped the charges they must have been lying is just as bad as assuming that because someone had charges brought against them that they are guilty. Our legal system is better than most, but it's far from perfect. Have some compassion.

rickmb 16y ago

On what do you base this first claim? Because a little Google search on the subject of Swedish police and corruption turns up quite a number of (recent) hits. Not to mention the legally dubious raids by the Swedish police on the hosters of the Piratebay, that seemed to have been bought and paid for by Hollywood. By the way, is it normal police procedure in Sweden to tell the world's media that some dude is wanted for rape within a few hours of the accusation?

Hagelin 16y ago
It was reported by the media after an arrest warrant was issued.
JeanPierre 16y ago
My first claim was rather weak: It was just from my own knowledge and experience with Swedish police and the lack of news regarding corruption with them involved. If a Google search says otherwise, then I must have missed those corruption-cases. Sorry! > By the way, is it normal police procedure in Sweden to tell the world's media that some dude is wanted for rape within a few hours of the accusation? I would suppose that the media would sniff out as much information as fast as possible regarding Assange, because of his position. Also Expressen claimed certain things other media channels couldn't. E.g. all Norwegian newspapers cited Expressen.se for the information, and whenever they tried to get a confirmation from the Swedish police, they only got things such as "I can confirm that he is indicted. But since this is a delicate matter, I can not comment on the investigation beyond that."

rue 16y ago

The two women also know eachother, according to Expressen.

genieyclo 16y ago
Expressen is a tabloid.
- rue 16y ago
  True, but that by itself does not invalidate their supposedly sourced reporting.

stfp 16y ago

Why do you think the police would need to be bribed or anything to record a claim & decide to prosecute ? I wouldn't be surprised if they were bound to investigate/prosecute (by law) in such cases. Only thing I don't get is how on earth you'd be able to argue that Assange has a "position of power" or that you fear him - is he some kind of uber-rich tycoon or politically connected kingpin or something ? Or did they fear he'd wikileak their private facebook ? To me it's textbook character assassination - even if the claims are withdraws (maybe especially if they are without an investigation or trial), people will vaguely remember this and Assange will be 'tainted' forever. I'm not saying well-known people don't do bad shit (Polanski ?) but some kind of hard evidence (a rape-kit confirmed DNA match) would have / would be most welcome in this spooks-rich context.

jonknee 16y ago

... And the warrant has been withdrawn. Apparently they were lying. That was quick, I thought we'd have to wait for weeks before getting to the facts.

Hagelin 16y ago
> *Apparently they were lying. Apparent based on what? The prosecutor hasn’t made any such statement?
- jonknee 16y ago
  The dropped charges. What else besides the accuser(s) lying could be the reason they would be dropped so quickly?
  - Hagelin 16y ago
    If I’ve understood correctly, the warrant was issued by an on-duty prosecutor and overturned by a chief prosecutor. It could be a simple revaluation of whether or not the accusation falls within the legal definition of rape, whether or not there were sufficient grounds for a warrant, etc.
  - erikpukinskis 16y ago
    Rape victims have to go through an incredible amount of bullshit to actually get their rapists put behind bars. This includes: 1) Talking about and reliving the experience over and over and over to police, prosecutors, judges, juries, family and friends, delaying your ability to "move on". 2) Being mercilessly attacked by legal challenge from your rapist, including attempts to defame your character (defense attorneys trying to prove you are a "slut"), and whatever else they can throw at you to try and make your life miserable so you'll drop the charges. 3) Significant legal expenses. The fortitude required to actually see a rape case through is immense. Assuming that because someone dropped the charges they must have been lying is just as bad as assuming that because someone had charges brought against them that they are guilty. Our legal system is better than most, but it's far from perfect. Have some compassion.