6 ms·

Perhaps they are prosecuting him with the intention of granting asylym afterwards. Somehow it feels like a grab.

by aliswe 7y ago

benevol 7y ago
I don't know why you would think that. Nothing has changed recently, has it? Sweden has been in the US' pockets for a long time, just like the other main European countries such as the UK and Germany.
- WAHa_06x36 7y ago
  Is that why they are now trying to block his extradition to the US, then.
  - benevol 7y ago
    Do you have a source for that?
    - WAHa_06x36 7y ago
      The article? The US has asked for him to be extradited. If Sweden also asks for it, that blocks the US if the UK decides to give him to Sweden.
  - sedeki 7y ago
    Well, that’s new to me. Source, please.
    - labster 7y ago
      Source is OP, please read the article.
  - cal97g 7y ago
    Source?
- lostjohnny 7y ago
  That's laughable
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - asda22sdasd 7y ago
    Why? It's the truth.
  - codedokode 7y ago
    What about a case when NSA was wiretapping phone calls of member of German governments, including Angela Merkel [1]? US got away with this without any consequences and Germany said nothing. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10407282/Barack-Obama-approved-tapping-Angela-Merkels-phone-3-years-ago.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10...
    - roel_v 7y ago
      What did you think was going to happen? German bombers flying to New York?
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - lostjohnny 7y ago
      They didn't get away with it. They paid, in money, but they paid. Hell, they even filmed an entire season of Homeland in Berlin soon after...
  - benevol 7y ago
    Were you already born when Edward Snowden made his revelations? Or how about the Evo Morales grounding incident? [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident
willvarfar 7y ago
Perhaps they are prosecuting him because he is accused of committing a crime?
- piokoch 7y ago
  It seems that the word "rape" is somehow exaggeration. Per Wikipedia (assuming it is reliable source here, hasn't checked sources it cites) "On 20 August 2010, two women, a 26-year-old living in Enköping and a 31-year-old living in Stockholm, reported to the Swedish police that Assange had engaged in unprotected sexual activity with them that violated the scope of their consent. "The next day, the case was transferred to Chefsåklagare (Chief Public Prosecutor) Eva Finné. In answer to questions surrounding the incidents, the following day, Finné declared, >>I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape<<. However, Karin Rosander from the Swedish Prosecution Authority, said Assange remained suspected of molestation. Police gave no further comment at the time, but continued the investigation."
  - DanBC 7y ago
    That's literally rape. He tried to say (in England) that it wasn't rape, and that was rejected by the court. https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/2849.html https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/2849.html He tried to claim that this wasn't rape in both Sweden and England (the dual criminality element which is required for extradition) and that was rejected by the court.
  - uddoe 7y ago
    I assume there's no proof of this having happened at all?
  - willvarfar 7y ago
    Sweden has a comparatively broad legal definition of rape. My memory of accusations are they they sure meet my personal definition of rape. We may only disagree on the terminology; I trust we don't disagree that what is alleged should be a crime.
  - vesinisa 7y ago
fit2rule 7y ago
Would that it were another grand twist in the saga, that Assange was saved from certain trauma, for the sake of a broken condom .. Alas, from the moment he entered the embassy, he has been a dead agent. What is of most import, is how this will affect the whistleblowers. (Whistleblowers, we know you're out there. Got more fake news?)
acallaghan 7y ago
No it's because he's a rape suspect in Sweden - it's not a giant conspiracy or 'a grab', he's just a suspect that ran away from the law. The USA have already requested his extradition in the UK - to say that "Sweden only sought rape charges because then the USA can extradite him from Sweden" is clearly bogus. If he actually confronted these charges in Sweden, and found guilty, he may actually be out of prison by now. And at the centre of all of this, that everyone seems to have forgotten, are these two women that have accused him of rape. It seems really inhumane and unjust to simply shrug these accusations off as political, and not that they might be telling the truth, and he's a criminal in Swedish law
- krageon 7y ago
  > clearly bogus It is not clearly bogus. It was a concern. The concern might be wrong, as they often are. That doesn't make it somehow not legitimate.
  - lostjohnny 7y ago
    Even if it was true, what's wrong with that? He would be sent to USA to respond of his alleged crimes in front of a public court of justice.
    - kermitismyhero 7y ago
      >He would be sent to USA to respond of his alleged crimes in front of a public court of justice. Haha, no. He'd be sent to a secret FISA Star Chamber. There's no way he'd be tried in public. And if the Swedish authorities wanted Assange to answer for alleged crimes in Sweden, all they had to do was publicly declare that they wouldn't extradite Assange to the US. That was the sole requirement he had made of the Swedish authorities in exchange for his willingness to return to Sweden. The fact that the Swedish authorities refused even that is deeply suspicious.
      - ivarb 7y ago
        It's actually not suspicious. It is simply not something the authorities can legally do.
nabla9 7y ago
That's not how rules based democracies work. Prosecutor works independently. Sweden has civil law system based on classical Roman law and German model. There is no plea bargaining, everyone who is prosecuted must stand trial. The investigation was just suspended because Assange could not be questioned. They bring him for questioning to get interview. After that, the prosecutor may choose not to press charges. The case seems very weak, so the prosecutor may drop the case.

Perhaps they are prosecuting him with the intention of granting asylym afterwards. Somehow it feels like a grab.

by aliswe 7y ago

Perhaps they are prosecuting him with the intention of granting asylym afterwards. Somehow it feels like a grab.

I don't know why you would think that. Nothing has changed recently, has it? Sweden has been in the US' pockets for a long time, just like the other main European countries such as the UK and Germany.

WAHa_06x36 7y ago
Is that why they are now trying to block his extradition to the US, then.
- benevol 7y ago
  Do you have a source for that?
  - WAHa_06x36 7y ago
    The article? The US has asked for him to be extradited. If Sweden also asks for it, that blocks the US if the UK decides to give him to Sweden.
- sedeki 7y ago
  Well, that’s new to me. Source, please.
  - labster 7y ago
    Source is OP, please read the article.
- cal97g 7y ago
  Source?
lostjohnny 7y ago
That's laughable
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- asda22sdasd 7y ago
  Why? It's the truth.
- codedokode 7y ago
  What about a case when NSA was wiretapping phone calls of member of German governments, including Angela Merkel [1]? US got away with this without any consequences and Germany said nothing. [1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10407282/Barack-Obama-approved-tapping-Angela-Merkels-phone-3-years-ago.html https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10...
  - roel_v 7y ago
    What did you think was going to happen? German bombers flying to New York?
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - lostjohnny 7y ago
    They didn't get away with it. They paid, in money, but they paid. Hell, they even filmed an entire season of Homeland in Berlin soon after...
- benevol 7y ago
  Were you already born when Edward Snowden made his revelations? Or how about the Evo Morales grounding incident? [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales_grounding_incident

willvarfar 7y ago

Perhaps they are prosecuting him because he is accused of committing a crime?

piokoch 7y ago
It seems that the word "rape" is somehow exaggeration. Per Wikipedia (assuming it is reliable source here, hasn't checked sources it cites) "On 20 August 2010, two women, a 26-year-old living in Enköping and a 31-year-old living in Stockholm, reported to the Swedish police that Assange had engaged in unprotected sexual activity with them that violated the scope of their consent. "The next day, the case was transferred to Chefsåklagare (Chief Public Prosecutor) Eva Finné. In answer to questions surrounding the incidents, the following day, Finné declared, >>I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape<<. However, Karin Rosander from the Swedish Prosecution Authority, said Assange remained suspected of molestation. Police gave no further comment at the time, but continued the investigation."
- DanBC 7y ago
  That's literally rape. He tried to say (in England) that it wasn't rape, and that was rejected by the court. https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/2849.html https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/2849.html He tried to claim that this wasn't rape in both Sweden and England (the dual criminality element which is required for extradition) and that was rejected by the court.
- uddoe 7y ago
  I assume there's no proof of this having happened at all?
- willvarfar 7y ago
  Sweden has a comparatively broad legal definition of rape. My memory of accusations are they they sure meet my personal definition of rape. We may only disagree on the terminology; I trust we don't disagree that what is alleged should be a crime.
- vesinisa 7y ago

fit2rule 7y ago

Would that it were another grand twist in the saga, that Assange was saved from certain trauma, for the sake of a broken condom .. Alas, from the moment he entered the embassy, he has been a dead agent. What is of most import, is how this will affect the whistleblowers. (Whistleblowers, we know you're out there. Got more fake news?)

acallaghan 7y ago

No it's because he's a rape suspect in Sweden - it's not a giant conspiracy or 'a grab', he's just a suspect that ran away from the law. The USA have already requested his extradition in the UK - to say that "Sweden only sought rape charges because then the USA can extradite him from Sweden" is clearly bogus. If he actually confronted these charges in Sweden, and found guilty, he may actually be out of prison by now. And at the centre of all of this, that everyone seems to have forgotten, are these two women that have accused him of rape. It seems really inhumane and unjust to simply shrug these accusations off as political, and not that they might be telling the truth, and he's a criminal in Swedish law

krageon 7y ago
> clearly bogus It is not clearly bogus. It was a concern. The concern might be wrong, as they often are. That doesn't make it somehow not legitimate.
- lostjohnny 7y ago
  Even if it was true, what's wrong with that? He would be sent to USA to respond of his alleged crimes in front of a public court of justice.
  - kermitismyhero 7y ago
    >He would be sent to USA to respond of his alleged crimes in front of a public court of justice. Haha, no. He'd be sent to a secret FISA Star Chamber. There's no way he'd be tried in public. And if the Swedish authorities wanted Assange to answer for alleged crimes in Sweden, all they had to do was publicly declare that they wouldn't extradite Assange to the US. That was the sole requirement he had made of the Swedish authorities in exchange for his willingness to return to Sweden. The fact that the Swedish authorities refused even that is deeply suspicious.
    - ivarb 7y ago
      It's actually not suspicious. It is simply not something the authorities can legally do.

nabla9 7y ago

That's not how rules based democracies work. Prosecutor works independently. Sweden has civil law system based on classical Roman law and German model. There is no plea bargaining, everyone who is prosecuted must stand trial. The investigation was just suspended because Assange could not be questioned. They bring him for questioning to get interview. After that, the prosecutor may choose not to press charges. The case seems very weak, so the prosecutor may drop the case.