Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 160 posts

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#101

Post by monocasa »

FireBeyond wrote: post #98
monocasa wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was leaked in the Stratfor emails that they have a secret indictment against Assange. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfo...

That's a very biased interpretation of the very article you quote. Stratfor, a _private company_, with no connections to the DOJ, had one of its employees say in an internal email seven years ago that they had an indictment. Based on "conversations" with "people". In among literally thousands of emails doing little more than smearing Assange and Martin. And this was in context to Bradley Manning, though no confirmati…

What else could it mean?

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#102

Post by jacquesm »

FireBeyond wrote: post #98
monocasa wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was leaked in the Stratfor emails that they have a secret indictment against Assange. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfo...

That's a very biased interpretation of the very article you quote. Stratfor, a _private company_, with no connections to the DOJ, had one of its employees say in an internal email seven years ago that they had an indictment. Based on "conversations" with "people". In among literally thousands of emails doing little more than smearing Assange and Martin. And this was in context to Bradley Manning, though no confirmati…

It is sort of the problem with secret indictments though, they are secret. So absence of proof is not the same as proof of absence.

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#103

Post by FireBeyond »

toyg wrote: post #55
guitarbill wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the eagerness of the CPS to prosecute, seems like paranoia was a good strategy, no? There's some hidden agenda here, and it's hard to believe it's something as mundane as CPS bloke doesn't want a new case before he retires when emails conveniently get "deleted". I think you can expect better from lawyers. But it's especially galling for a lawyer who works for the government, they should have procedures to retai…

I don't think he was "fleeing". When he left Sweden, the issue seemed closed, and he was just going on about his life - had tons of contacts in the UK so he went there to continue his work. He was constantly jumping from country to country before this; it just happened that he was in the UK when Ms. Ny escalated proceedings. But yeah, we've seen over and over in the last decade that the UK is one of the last countrie…

How did he feel the issue had been closed? He'd not even been interviewed in any way, shape or form. Someone makes an accusation against him, they don't interview him, and just close the issue and he wanders on his life, and only then do they trick him into having to seek refuge?

That's more than a little whitewashed, to me.

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#104

Post by alex_hitchins »

monocasa wrote: post #85
alex_hitchins wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would they need a secret warrant? In this case, it would have no advantage at all. Also, the US have said on record I believe that they have not placed any extradition warrants on him. I see it more that they can't actually arrest him for anything, as he hasn't broken any laws _in_ the USA. He has done things the don't like for sure, but as a non US citizen how can he be bound to these laws? If this were the case…

It was leaked in the Stratfor emails. > https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/wikileaks-stratfo...

Interesting. I note it's from 2012 but guess could still be current. Thank you for supplying the link.

Again though, seems odd they would need to keep it sealed. I wonder what Assange would actually want to do regards to what would happen after he leaves the embassy (legal issues aside). I can't think there are many countries that would allow him entry, bar Ecuador and possibly Russia. Most likely Russia I'd assume as he seems on good terms with Russian media (thinking of his RT show)

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#105

Post by FireBeyond »

IntronExon wrote: post #52
felipelemos wrote: post #24

This whole situation is a laugh at the "democratic freedom" situation that we live today. At least in some countries ruled by a dictatorship there is no such hypocrisy.

Oh yeah, dictatorships are famously irony-free. cough Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cough

"Every faction in Africa calls themselves by these noble names - Liberation this, Patriotic that, Democratic Republic of something-or-other... I guess they can't own up to what they usually are: the Federation of Worse Oppressors Than the Last Bunch of Oppressors. Often, the most barbaric atrocities occur when both combatants proclaim themselves Freedom Fighters."

-- Lord of War

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#106

Post by MisterBastahrd »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #69
dpark wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and any diplomat ... worth his/her salt already has procedures to skip the country. It’s called diplomatic immunity. Diplomats don’t have secret plans for bailing out of countries because they don’t need them. Diplomats don’t hide in embassies. They walk onto airplanes and fly home.

Tell that to the US Embassy workers fleeing Hanoi? Or those killed by insurgents elsewhere? Of course they have many pre-determined safety procedures including rapid retreat.

There's a difference between an established functional government and a revolutionary government.

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#107

Post by rbobby »

AnonymousPlanet wrote: post #75
untog wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was charged with rape and molestation. Those are crimes. But if you want to call them "infractions" I suppose that is up to you. To look at your logic in the reverse direction, you are basically implying that in light of Assange's political activity he cannot be credibly accused of any crime, because it will be a false accusation trumped up by state actors. That doesn't stand up to any logical scrutiny. Just becau…

Maybe you're not clear about the actual background. There are no charges against him in Sweden. He was ordered to be questioned related to his vile cheating trick that isn't even recognized as rape outside of Sweden. I think the guy could be called one of the biggest assholes. But let's not add to be pile of rubbish and defamation that deliberatley has been amassed regarding this case.

> isn't even recognized as rape outside of Sweden.

Having sex with an unconscious person, even someone asleep, is against the law in some jurisdictions. Really depends on how they define consent (in England's case sleep is "black-letter" lack of consent).

Specific to England: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/rape-and-sexual-offenc...

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#108

Post by belorn »

> The CPS lawyer also told Ny that year: “It is simply amazing how much work this case is generating. It sometimes seems like an industry. Please do not think this case is being dealt with as just another extradition.”

Pure government corruption and waste. If those lawyers was speaking of an official policy decision of the CPS, how many laws would they be breaking?

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#109

Post by notahacker »

gribbly wrote: post #92
untog wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was charged with rape and molestation. Those are crimes. But if you want to call them "infractions" I suppose that is up to you. To look at your logic in the reverse direction, you are basically implying that in light of Assange's political activity he cannot be credibly accused of any crime, because it will be a false accusation trumped up by state actors. That doesn't stand up to any logical scrutiny. Just becau…

>He was charged with rape and molestation. No, he has never been charged, he is wanted for questioning regarding an accusation of rape. Funny is that he was already questioned for that exact accusation BEFORE he left Sweden, then he was told to return for further questioning. Also the first prosecutor immediately dropped it, then another prosecutor decided to re-open it, which is very unusual. As for the actual rape…

Frankly, the fact that the case was a bit vague and woolly and was initially dropped then reopened after an appeal from the accusers' lawyer, at which point Assange avoided charges by moving jurisdictions is a point in favour of the argument that Assange is considerably more likely to be trying to avoid an awkward trial than the victim of some massive government conspiracy against him.

Re: Sweden tried to drop Assange extradition in 2013

#110

Post by koolba »

jacquesm wrote: post #12
randcraw wrote: post #4

The persistence of the British CPS in pursuing Assange shows how tight the militaries are between the US and Commonwealth nations. AFAIK, Britain had no personal stake in Wikileaks / Assange. But because America badly wanted to suppress Wikileaks and its ilk from future revelations, Britain has persisted in its surrogate prosecution of Assange. I wonder, is there no blowback among Brits for the Crown so baldly adopti…

I don't think it is that simple. You thumb your nose at a judge at your own peril, regardless of how much merit there was to the original case and regardless of where your sympathies lie with respect to WL and Assange the fact is that there is absolutely no way the UK govt/judicial branch would let a known fugitive skip like this even after the original case was dropped. It is bordering on the farcical how much money…

There’s the third option of him leaving in a diplomatic bag: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_bag
Post reply on HN