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How dire is Assange's situation? Is it really possible that the US will try to imprison or even execute him? Edit: I know were not talking directly about the U

by pvnick 14y ago

How dire is Assange's situation? Is it really possible that the US will try to imprison or even execute him? Edit: I know were not talking directly about the US here, but the reason I made the jump is that I see Sweden as a lot more likely to allow the US to bully it into giving up Assange

wvenable 14y ago
If he were to ever enter US custody, he's not likely to come away from that for a long time. The question is how interested is the US in getting him into custody and how easy is it for them. I imagine it's not terribly difficult but the US also hasn't done much so far. But if I were him, I'm not sure I'd be willing to take any chances. The consequences are just too great.
iamdave 14y ago
I severely doubt it'd go so far as execution, sudden disappearance into a political black hole never to be heard from again? More likely.
- johnny22 14y ago
  then what exactly are they waiting for. He's not likely to get any lower profile until past the time anybody cares (including the government)
  - iamdave 14y ago
    What's your proposition? Fly to Ecquador, kick in the embassy doors and abduct a man seeking asylum? It'd make for one heck of a news day, but I don't think it's that easy.
wilfra 14y ago
The US has nothing to do with this. Sweden is trying to have him extradited from the UK for a sexual assault charge.
- simfoo 14y ago
  Nope, there is no charge, they just want to question him.
  - wilfra 14y ago
    My mistake. In any event, this has nothing to do with the US government.
- sp332 14y ago
  He's not charged with sexual assault (not yet, anyway). The warrant is to return him for questioning.
- mcantelon 14y ago
  He's not even charged in Sweden. It's fairly obvious the Swedish angle is being used to get him in a country from which he can be extradicted to the US.
  - EwanToo 14y ago
    Because the UK never extradites anyone to the USA, especially their own citizens... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon
  - luriel 14y ago
    Every time I hear this argument I don't know if to laugh or to cry. Assange himself pointed out that it is much easier to be extradited to the US from the UK (which extradites to the US almost anyone for pretty much any reason) than from Sweden (that as far as i know very rarely if ever extradites to the US). If he was really afraid of being extradited to the US, he would want to be in Sweden rather than in the UK.
    - AlexMuir 14y ago
      But this is more palatable all round. The UK can send him to Sweden, saying they complied with EU rules. The UK can then relax, and not deal with the wrath of Australia being pissed off - an ex-commonwealth country. Once he's convicted in Sweden, he can serve the two-months or whatever. Then he can be extradited to the US. Sweden can relax - he's a convicted sex offender now, extradited from the UK. It's harder for him to get legal support in Sweden - he's English-speaking, as are the majority of his supporters. And the US gets their man. No government wants some renegade out there leaking their secrets. The UK and US will obviously have discussed his extradition. They've agreed to try the Swedish route first. It doesn't have a political cost for the UK government.
hack_edu 14y ago
US imprisonment has very little to do with this. The man faces rape and sexual assault charges, one of the most serious offenses a person can commit. Though I back his politics 100% and consider him a hero to be remembered, he has every responsibility to face his accusers in a fair trial. Shame on Sweden if they hand him over to the Americans after his trial has concluded.
- Muzza 14y ago
  > Though I back his politics 100%, he has every responsibility to face his accusers in a fair trial. With Sweden's looney toons laws, I strongly disagree.
  - objclxt 14y ago
    This is getting really tired now. Assange and his legal team have tried every possible angle. Sweden has very different laws to say the US. This is not unexpected. The English courts have determined that Sweden's justice system is fair and balanced. Assange attempted to avoid extradition by arguing Sweden didn't have the right to issue an arrest warrant, not that he was going to get an unfair trial. This is an act of total desperation. It does nothing to further his innocence. If the US wanted him they would have extradited him from the UK already - Britain has a long history of being more than happy to comply with US extradition requests. It's why Roman Polanski refuses to visit the UK from France. This is all about accusations of sexual assault and rape which Assange is totally unwilling to face.
    - wvenable 14y ago
      Assange stayed in Sweden for 5 weeks to be interrogated and only left Sweden after asking permission to do so from the Swedish Prosecutor. Saying this is all about avoid accusations of sexual assault seems to contradict the actual facts.
      - objclxt 14y ago
        And now they would like him back to ask some more questions. Assange cannot have his cake and eat it. It is somewhat hypocritical for Assange to seek asylum on the grounds of human rights whilst denying the women who are accusing him of obtaining due process through the law (most countries agree that due process is in itself a fundamental right).
drcube 14y ago
I thought the UK decided to extradite him to Sweden for rape charges? While Wikileaks is certainly a motivating factor, and I'm sure it's why this story gets as much press as it does, I don't think it's where his legal problems stem from. As far as I know, the US has nothing to do with it.
- sp332 14y ago
  He has not (yet) been charged. It says this in the article.
  - drcube 14y ago
    Then how in the world has the UK decided to extradite him to Sweden? Don't you have to be charged with something first? I'm a legal idiot, but that doesn't make much sense to me. EDIT: Nevermind, cousin comment said he is wanted for a second round of questioning in Sweden before they actually charge him. I still don't understand how something as serious as extradition can be used for "questioning", without any charges at all. Could some random country say they wanted to ask me something and the US would just ship me overseas involuntarily?? That is a terrifying thought.
    - DrJokepu 14y ago
      No, the European Arrest Warrant requires an intent to prosecute. The specifics of the prosecution process (including how and when the prosecuted person is charged and what that means exactly) differ in each member state. As programmers would say, it's an "implementation detail".
Mz 14y ago
The US has a long history of doing things like going to full fledged war over dropping a few bombs or planes on our soil. If I had run Wikileaks, I wouldn't want to be extradited to the US either. However, the statement on the page references the UK and Sweden, not the US. So that may not really be a factor.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
roguecoder 14y ago
He is accused of sexual misconduct, some of which does carry possible jail times similar to, say, shoplifting. His continued refusal to stand trial is unlikely to play well to the court, but had he simply faced trial he would probably be out already even if he had been convicted.
- chj 14y ago
  wishful thinking is dangerous in politics. you die without knowing how.

by pvnick 14y ago

wvenable 14y ago

If he were to ever enter US custody, he's not likely to come away from that for a long time. The question is how interested is the US in getting him into custody and how easy is it for them. I imagine it's not terribly difficult but the US also hasn't done much so far. But if I were him, I'm not sure I'd be willing to take any chances. The consequences are just too great.

iamdave 14y ago

I severely doubt it'd go so far as execution, sudden disappearance into a political black hole never to be heard from again? More likely.

johnny22 14y ago
then what exactly are they waiting for. He's not likely to get any lower profile until past the time anybody cares (including the government)
- iamdave 14y ago
  What's your proposition? Fly to Ecquador, kick in the embassy doors and abduct a man seeking asylum? It'd make for one heck of a news day, but I don't think it's that easy.

wilfra 14y ago

The US has nothing to do with this. Sweden is trying to have him extradited from the UK for a sexual assault charge.

simfoo 14y ago
Nope, there is no charge, they just want to question him.
- wilfra 14y ago
  My mistake. In any event, this has nothing to do with the US government.
sp332 14y ago
He's not charged with sexual assault (not yet, anyway). The warrant is to return him for questioning.
mcantelon 14y ago
He's not even charged in Sweden. It's fairly obvious the Swedish angle is being used to get him in a country from which he can be extradicted to the US.
- EwanToo 14y ago
  Because the UK never extradites anyone to the USA, especially their own citizens... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon
- luriel 14y ago
  Every time I hear this argument I don't know if to laugh or to cry. Assange himself pointed out that it is much easier to be extradited to the US from the UK (which extradites to the US almost anyone for pretty much any reason) than from Sweden (that as far as i know very rarely if ever extradites to the US). If he was really afraid of being extradited to the US, he would want to be in Sweden rather than in the UK.
  - AlexMuir 14y ago
    But this is more palatable all round. The UK can send him to Sweden, saying they complied with EU rules. The UK can then relax, and not deal with the wrath of Australia being pissed off - an ex-commonwealth country. Once he's convicted in Sweden, he can serve the two-months or whatever. Then he can be extradited to the US. Sweden can relax - he's a convicted sex offender now, extradited from the UK. It's harder for him to get legal support in Sweden - he's English-speaking, as are the majority of his supporters. And the US gets their man. No government wants some renegade out there leaking their secrets. The UK and US will obviously have discussed his extradition. They've agreed to try the Swedish route first. It doesn't have a political cost for the UK government.

hack_edu 14y ago

US imprisonment has very little to do with this. The man faces rape and sexual assault charges, one of the most serious offenses a person can commit. Though I back his politics 100% and consider him a hero to be remembered, he has every responsibility to face his accusers in a fair trial. Shame on Sweden if they hand him over to the Americans after his trial has concluded.

Muzza 14y ago
> Though I back his politics 100%, he has every responsibility to face his accusers in a fair trial. With Sweden's looney toons laws, I strongly disagree.
- objclxt 14y ago
  This is getting really tired now. Assange and his legal team have tried every possible angle. Sweden has very different laws to say the US. This is not unexpected. The English courts have determined that Sweden's justice system is fair and balanced. Assange attempted to avoid extradition by arguing Sweden didn't have the right to issue an arrest warrant, not that he was going to get an unfair trial. This is an act of total desperation. It does nothing to further his innocence. If the US wanted him they would have extradited him from the UK already - Britain has a long history of being more than happy to comply with US extradition requests. It's why Roman Polanski refuses to visit the UK from France. This is all about accusations of sexual assault and rape which Assange is totally unwilling to face.
  - wvenable 14y ago
    Assange stayed in Sweden for 5 weeks to be interrogated and only left Sweden after asking permission to do so from the Swedish Prosecutor. Saying this is all about avoid accusations of sexual assault seems to contradict the actual facts.
    - objclxt 14y ago
      And now they would like him back to ask some more questions. Assange cannot have his cake and eat it. It is somewhat hypocritical for Assange to seek asylum on the grounds of human rights whilst denying the women who are accusing him of obtaining due process through the law (most countries agree that due process is in itself a fundamental right).

drcube 14y ago

I thought the UK decided to extradite him to Sweden for rape charges? While Wikileaks is certainly a motivating factor, and I'm sure it's why this story gets as much press as it does, I don't think it's where his legal problems stem from. As far as I know, the US has nothing to do with it.

sp332 14y ago
He has not (yet) been charged. It says this in the article.
- drcube 14y ago
  Then how in the world has the UK decided to extradite him to Sweden? Don't you have to be charged with something first? I'm a legal idiot, but that doesn't make much sense to me. EDIT: Nevermind, cousin comment said he is wanted for a second round of questioning in Sweden before they actually charge him. I still don't understand how something as serious as extradition can be used for "questioning", without any charges at all. Could some random country say they wanted to ask me something and the US would just ship me overseas involuntarily?? That is a terrifying thought.
  - DrJokepu 14y ago
    No, the European Arrest Warrant requires an intent to prosecute. The specifics of the prosecution process (including how and when the prosecuted person is charged and what that means exactly) differ in each member state. As programmers would say, it's an "implementation detail".

Mz 14y ago

The US has a long history of doing things like going to full fledged war over dropping a few bombs or planes on our soil. If I had run Wikileaks, I wouldn't want to be extradited to the US either. However, the statement on the page references the UK and Sweden, not the US. So that may not really be a factor.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

roguecoder 14y ago

He is accused of sexual misconduct, some of which does carry possible jail times similar to, say, shoplifting. His continued refusal to stand trial is unlikely to play well to the court, but had he simply faced trial he would probably be out already even if he had been convicted.

chj 14y ago
wishful thinking is dangerous in politics. you die without knowing how.