Assange Accuser Worked with US-Funded, CIA-Tied Anti-Castro Group. Yesterday Alexander Cockburn reminded us of the news Israel Shamir and Paul Bennett broke at Counterpunch in September. Julian Assange’s chief accuser in Sweden has a significant history of work with anti-Castro groups, at least one of which is US funded and openly supported by a former CIA agent convicted in the mass murder of seventy three Cubans on an airliner he was involved in blowing up. Anna Ardin (the official complainant) is often described by the media as a “leftist”. She has ties to the US-financed anti-Castro and anti-communist groups. She published her anti-Castro diatribes (see here and here) in the Swedish-language publication Revista de Asignaturas Cubanas put out by Misceláneas de Cuba.
From Oslo, Professor Michael Seltzer points out that this periodical is the product of a well-financed anti-Castro organization in Sweden. Quelle surprise, no? In Cuba she interacted with the feminist anti-Castro group Las damas de blanco (the Ladies in White). Small world, isn’t it? The Assange Case: Police Official and Accuser Are Friends. J.A denies charges. Swedish prosecutors have withdrawn an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, saying the rape suspicions against him are unfounded. In a brief statement Saturday, chief prosecutor Eva Finne says: “I don’t think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below. STOCKHOLM (AP) — The founder of WikiLeaks was accused of rape in a Swedish arrest warrant Saturday that turned the spotlight onto the former hacker who’s infuriated governments with his self-proclaimed mission to make secrets public. The accusation was labeled a dirty trick by Julian Assange and his group, who are preparing to release a fresh batch of classified U.S. documents from the Afghan war. They issued a warrant for his arrest, a move that doesn’t necessarily mean that criminal charges will be filed. “The next step is that we interrogate him,” she said. “We were warned to expect ‘dirty tricks.’ Witness Statement of Goran Rudling.
HEARING FEBRUARY. PM denies political role. It is not clear from the UK Press Association report why Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt responded to reporters' questions about Julian Assange in London two days ago by addressing the hypothetical question of Assange's extradition from Sweden to the US, but he didn't dismiss it as hypothetical: Mr Reinfeldt said Sweden's policy was not to extradite people to countries with the death penalty. But he said Sweden's courts, not its government, would decide that. ... "We should remember when we ask questions about this that these are legal systems talking to each other, not politicians. " We know from the cables and other sources (see the summary in section 7, 92-96, of the "skeleton" legal argument) that Swedish courts have in the past been complicit in the illegal kidnapping of refugee claimants by US agents.
More broadly, the role of diplomacy as mediator between law and politics has arisen repeatedly in many of the cables released by its major media partners and WikiLeaks.
Swedish Interview Assange Accuser. What follows is the full text, translated into English, of an article by Jessica Balksjö which appeared in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet on August 21, 2010. The article, titled “Thirty-Year-Old Woman: I Was Assaulted” and subtitled “Discusses Charges Against Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange,” constitutes the only detailed public discussion of the allegations against Assange yet offered by either of his two accusers. It has never before been published in English. This translation was prepared by a Swedish-speaking friend of StudentActivism.net, and lightly edited by myself. I’ll be putting up a post discussing the article’s significance tomorrow. Aftonbladet has spoken with one of the women behind the rape charges against Julian Assange. When she met a woman who said she had been raped by Assange, both decided to go to the police. Assange met both women during his visit to Sweden. Considers Herself the Target of a Sexual Assault The women met Assange during his stay in Stockholm.
Skeleton extradition argument. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, leaves after making an appearance at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London today. Image: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis JULIAN ASSANGE HAS APPEARED in court in London for a procedural hearing on Sweden’s extradition request. Speaking to the press outside the court, Assange said he was happy about today’s hearing and WikiLeaks would continue to publish documents, the PA reports. Assange and his legal team have made their skeleton argument against his extradition publicly available.
The provisional argument claims that the Swedish prosecutor who requested his extradition is not authorised to issue European Arrest Warrants and says “extradition has been sought for an improper purpose”. It also claims that there has been an “abuse of process” in failing to fully provide Assange with documents relating to the case. The WikiLeaks founder was released on conditional bail. Assange denies committing sexual offences as alleged by two women in Sweden. Already a fan? Good article skeleton argument. Julian Assange’s lawyers are going for the jugular in their attack on the Swedish and UK government’s attempts to extradite Assange to Sweden where there is an investigation under way concerning his alleged in involvement in sexual offences. Not only do Assange’s lawyers run the usual arguments about the offences not being extradition offences — that is, there are no like charges in English law — but they say that the Swedish prosecutor who wants Assange extradited has no authority to do so, and that the whole thing is an abuse of process.
Strong stuff, but if the 35-page skeleton argument that Assange’s legal team has filed overnight with the City of Westminster Magistrates Court, ahead of the hearing in early February, is correct in its view of the law, then the Swedes are cactus! (See video here of Assange’s brief appearance at Belmarsh Magistrates’ court in London overnight.) Misleading press coverage trial. Julian Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, delivered a 35-page skeleton outline of his court arguments to various media after the brief review hearing this morning at Belmarsh magistrates court (paraphrased in brief): (1) It is not accepted that the Swedish prosecutor is authorised to issue European Arrest Warrants (EAW). (2) European arrest warrants should only be issued for the purposes of prosecution, and it has been made very clear that Mr.
Assange is wanted for further questioning. (3) There has been abuse of process: non-disclosure by the Swedish Prosecutor. (4) There has been a further abuse of process: the conduct of the prosecution in Sweden. (5) The offences alleged in the EAW are not of serious nature in the UK, as they must be to constitute extradition offences. (6) Mr Assange reserves the right to argue extraneous considerations.
(section 13 of the Act). (7) Mr. In the eighth paragraph, the article mentions that there were seven points in the argument. The Skeleton Argument. Julian Assange appears tomorrow, 7 February, at Westminster Magistrates Court for what has been announced as a two-day hearing, but judging from past extradition hearings in the UK, it is likely (with appeals) to take much longer, even a year or more, with the second-last word being that of the Supreme Court (formerly House of Lords) and then, under certain circumstances, the last word from the Home Secretary.
Readers should note that the procedure is not to judge the actual case on its merits as a criminal procedure but to judge it according to relevant sections of the UK Extradition Act. Such evidence of the alleged offences that has surfaced is only relevant indirectly, such as to prosecutorial abuses, not to the arguable merits of that evidence and a future case in Sweden if extradition occurs. The Skeleton Argumentbegins with a challenge to prosecutor Ms Ny’s authority to issue an European Arrest Warrant (EAW). The case of Enander v. On this issue,(para 12) Ms Ny stated: Indeed. Extradition Matrix. Context Julian Assange was placed in international proceedings based on a European Arrest Warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors. European Union (EU) countries have a treaty that facilitates the process of a speedy extradition from one EU country to another, and beginning on Monday, February 7, a two-day hearing at Belmarsh Woolwich Crown Court in south London will determine whether Assange will be extradited from the UK to Sweden to face sex-crime accusations.
He has been accused but has not been charged. If Assange should lose, he will be extradited to Sweden unless he appeals the decision and wins. If he appeals, the appeal would be made to the Administrative Court, but it could be several months before it is heard. Extradition from Sweden to US Whatever happens in Sweden once Assange is extradited (on the hypothetical assumption that he will be), the US may indict him and have him "temporarily transferred," with Sweden's consent, so that he may face prosecution in the US.