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It's important to remember the Swedish authorities were never interested in testimony from Assange. It's worth reading this interview [1] with Nils Melzer, the

It's important to remember the Swedish authorities were never interested in testimony from Assange. It's worth reading this interview [1] with Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, which reveals in shocking detail the level of manipulation around this entire case. As Melzer says "You just have to look at how the case was run: For Sweden, it was never about the interests of the two women." [1] https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikilea...

foldr 6y ago
The Swedish prosecutors wanted to try Assange on rape charges. Their actions were geared towards getting that to happen. Merely having Assange "testify", outside of a courtroom setting, would not necessarily have furthered that goal. I do not see how that conflicts with the interests of the two women.
- justsee 6y ago
  Actually it's clear from Melzer's thorough investigation, where he reviewed the entire case material, including original Swedish documents, that this was an operation to frame Assange and extradite him to the US – and nothing to do with the two women, who were very clearly pawns in the process. It's really worth reading the interview closely to understand how thoroughly justice has been perverted in numerous countries to get at someone who revealed horrendous crimes.
  - foldr 6y ago
    I'm aware of the existence of such conspiracy theories. To me, the simpler and more plausible explanation is that Assange did what the women accused him of doing.
    - justsee 6y ago
      Melzer goes into detail about how the women didn't accuse him of rape. It's worth engaging in the facts on this issue, rather than gripping onto a received narrative in dismissive fashion, and the interview really goes into significant detail, including behind-the-scenes behaviour of Sweden that Melzer was privy to as UN Special Rapporteur on torture. It's one of those articles where people go in with the perspective you show here, and come out the end of it stunned by the truth of Assange's unjust treatment. In fact Melzer starts out by stating he began with the same attitude, initially refusing the case as "My impression, largely influenced by the media, was also colored by the prejudice that Julian Assange was somehow guilty and that he wanted to manipulate me." It is probably one of the best summaries of his case I've read, from a highly credible, independent investigator: https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikilea...
      - foldr 6y ago
        He was accused of initiating sex without using a condom following an explicit request for him to use a condom. The High Court judged that this action certainly constituted rape under UK law. It is also a crime under Swedish law (though I don't know how different levels of sexual assault / rape are classified in Sweden). It's always surprising to see just how grubby Assange's defenders are willing to get, up to and including rape apologism.
        justsee 6y ago
        There's a demonstrated lack of understanding around important details of this case in your responses. The accusation you raise is a key part of the interview with Melzer. The original witness statement was intentionally destroyed, and the supervisor of the policewoman who conducted the questioning wrote an email telling her to rewrite the statement. (The original copies of the mail exchanges between the Swedish police are actually displayed in the article.) The statement that forms the basis of that claim "was edited without the involvement of the woman in question and it wasn’t signed by her. It is a manipulated piece of evidence out of which the Swedish authorities then constructed a story of rape." As to your attempted lazy smearing – it doesn't really do you any favours here. As a final plea, perhaps read-up on the details so you can get a better understanding of the case: https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikilea...
nsajko 6y ago
For the record: Nils Melzer is full of shit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22209868 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22209868

foldr 6y ago

The Swedish prosecutors wanted to try Assange on rape charges. Their actions were geared towards getting that to happen. Merely having Assange "testify", outside of a courtroom setting, would not necessarily have furthered that goal. I do not see how that conflicts with the interests of the two women.

justsee 6y ago
Actually it's clear from Melzer's thorough investigation, where he reviewed the entire case material, including original Swedish documents, that this was an operation to frame Assange and extradite him to the US – and nothing to do with the two women, who were very clearly pawns in the process. It's really worth reading the interview closely to understand how thoroughly justice has been perverted in numerous countries to get at someone who revealed horrendous crimes.
- foldr 6y ago
  I'm aware of the existence of such conspiracy theories. To me, the simpler and more plausible explanation is that Assange did what the women accused him of doing.
  - justsee 6y ago
    Melzer goes into detail about how the women didn't accuse him of rape. It's worth engaging in the facts on this issue, rather than gripping onto a received narrative in dismissive fashion, and the interview really goes into significant detail, including behind-the-scenes behaviour of Sweden that Melzer was privy to as UN Special Rapporteur on torture. It's one of those articles where people go in with the perspective you show here, and come out the end of it stunned by the truth of Assange's unjust treatment. In fact Melzer starts out by stating he began with the same attitude, initially refusing the case as "My impression, largely influenced by the media, was also colored by the prejudice that Julian Assange was somehow guilty and that he wanted to manipulate me." It is probably one of the best summaries of his case I've read, from a highly credible, independent investigator: https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikilea...
    - foldr 6y ago
      He was accused of initiating sex without using a condom following an explicit request for him to use a condom. The High Court judged that this action certainly constituted rape under UK law. It is also a crime under Swedish law (though I don't know how different levels of sexual assault / rape are classified in Sweden). It's always surprising to see just how grubby Assange's defenders are willing to get, up to and including rape apologism.
      - justsee 6y ago
        There's a demonstrated lack of understanding around important details of this case in your responses. The accusation you raise is a key part of the interview with Melzer. The original witness statement was intentionally destroyed, and the supervisor of the policewoman who conducted the questioning wrote an email telling her to rewrite the statement. (The original copies of the mail exchanges between the Swedish police are actually displayed in the article.) The statement that forms the basis of that claim "was edited without the involvement of the woman in question and it wasn’t signed by her. It is a manipulated piece of evidence out of which the Swedish authorities then constructed a story of rape." As to your attempted lazy smearing – it doesn't really do you any favours here. As a final plea, perhaps read-up on the details so you can get a better understanding of the case: https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikilea...

nsajko 6y ago

For the record: Nils Melzer is full of shit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22209868 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22209868