Julian Assange Charges: Sweden Seeks To Detain WikiLeaks Founder In Rape Case

MALIN RISING and KARL RITTER | 11/18/10 02:09 PM | AP

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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks in front of NGO's delegates during a NGO conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Nov. 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Salvatore Di Nolfi, Keystone)

STOCKHOLM — The elusive Australian behind the biggest leak of U.S. war documents in history is wanted by Sweden in a drawn-out rape probe, and could soon face an international arrest warrant curtailing his ability to jump from one country to another.

A Swedish court on Thursday approved a motion to bring Julian Assange, the 39-year-old founder of WikiLeaks, into custody for questioning. The decision paves the way for prosecutors to seek his arrest abroad through Interpol.

Assange, whose whereabouts are unknown, is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. He has denied the allegations, which stem from his encounters with two women during a visit to Sweden in August.

His lawyer in Britain, Mark Stephens, said Assange had consensual sex with both women who then turned on him after becoming aware of each other's relationships.

The irregular evolution of the case, in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other, has sparked questions about Sweden's legal system and conspiracy theories about intelligence agencies seeking to silence and discredit Assange and WikiLeaks.

The site has published almost 500,000 secret U.S. documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Governments and some of Assange's own colleagues have denounced him for releasing Afghan documents that contained the names of Afghan intelligence sources for NATO forces, saying that could place the sources' lives at risk.

After the sex charges first appeared in August, Assange was quoted by a Swedish tabloid as saying he'd been warned that the Pentagon planned to use dirty tricks to spoil things for WikiLeaks.

He later told Sweden's TV4 he wasn't pointing fingers at anyone.

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"That doesn't mean that intelligence agencies are behind this, nor does it mean they are not behind it, nor does it mean once this has happened, for other reasons, that they are not capitalizing on it," he said.

The team behind WikiLeaks is small, reportedly just a half-dozen people and casual volunteers who offer their services as needed. Assange has no permanent address and travels frequently – jumping from one friend's place to the next, occasionally disappearing from public view for months at a time, only to reappear in the full glare of the cameras at packed news conferences to discuss his site's latest disclosure.

Assange had considered setting up a base for WikiLeaks in Sweden, where some of its servers are located, but Swedish immigration authorities denied him a residence permit. Earlier this month, he said he was considering immigrating to Switzerland instead.

Swedish prosecutors questioned Assange on Aug. 30. Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny said she sought Thursday's court order to detain him because attempts to question him again had failed.

"So far, we have not been able to meet with him to accomplish the interrogation," she said.

His lawyer lashed out at the Swedish investigators, saying Assange had offered to be questioned in Sweden and in Britain, in person or by phone, videoconferencing, e-mail, or to make a sworn statement.

"All of these offers have been flatly refused by a prosecutor who is abusing her powers by insisting that he return to Sweden," Stephens said. He added that the allegations were "false and without basis."

Court documents filed by the prosecutor show Assange is suspected of raping and sexually molesting a woman in the town of Enkoping, in central Sweden. He's suspected of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion of the second woman, in Stockholm.

A police report obtained by The Associated Press shows that both women had met Assange in connection with a seminar he gave in Stockholm on Aug. 14. The report shows the women filed their complaints together six days later.

Stephens said the basis of the allegations seems to be a "dispute over consensual, but unprotected sex" days after it occurred.

"Both women have declared that they had consensual sexual relations with our client and that they continued to instigate friendly contact well after the alleged incidents," he said. "Only after the women became aware of each other's relationships with Mr. Assange did they make their allegations against him."

The Swedish rape law is broader than similar laws in many other countries, partly because it covers rape within relationships.

Following a revision in 2005, the threshold for what is considered coercion to a sexual act was lowered, and the definition of rape was widened to include all sexual acts, instead of only intercourse. The change also meant that someone who has sex with an underaged, unconscious, drunk, or sleeping person can be convicted of rape.

"Sweden uses the designation rape in a way no other country uses it," said lawyer Per E. Samuelsson, a fierce critic of the sex crime law. "Lawmakers have gone one step too far in their eagerness to achieve something with the sex offense law."

Investigators initially disagreed on how to deal with Assange's case.

A Stockholm prosecutor opened a rape investigation on Aug. 20, that was dropped by the city's chief prosecutor a day later. Ny reopened it the following week.

Bjorn Hurtig, a Swedish lawyer who represented Assange at the detention hearing in Stockholm, said he thought the evidence presented by prosecutors was "very meager."

"It's not enough to get him convicted for crime," he said.

Hurtig said he would consider appealing the court order, but that it would require a power of attorney from Assange.

___

Associated Press Writer Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm contributed to this report.

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STOCKHOLM — The elusive Australian behind the biggest leak of U.S. war documents in history is wanted by Sweden in a drawn-out rape probe, and could soon face an international arrest warrant cur...
STOCKHOLM — The elusive Australian behind the biggest leak of U.S. war documents in history is wanted by Sweden in a drawn-out rape probe, and could soon face an international arrest warrant cur...
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minusthefactor   18 minutes ago (3:41 PM)
Powers that be will stop at nothing to silence their critics. There is little doubt that this case will result in a conviction. It will be presented in a court in which a judge has been handpicked, instructions issued, verdict predetermined and a guilty verdict is all but certain to be announced.

Why then go through the charade of this trial?

This mock trial is necessary to properly malign Mr. Julian Assange. He must be discredited and publicly humiliated, his credibility must be shredded. He has taken on the United States War machine and exposed its secrets. Now it is a state’s war against an individual, and Sweden is cooperating.

A decision has been made that Mr. Julian Assange cannot be allowed to continue on the path that he has chosen. And he has refused to cooperate. Now he must be silenced. He must be stopped. What better way is there to accomplish this goal than to label him a low life rapist?

He is too high a profile to send a Manchurian candidate to do the job.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Florence Baumgartner   11:28 PM on 11/20/2010
Detailed article here on the last news on Assange,

http://www­.opednews.­com/populu­m/linkfram­e.php?link­id=122233

.. and Linda, yes, I am a frog ;-)
ammsamm   08:33 PM on 11/20/2010
US tentacles in play once again. I wonder if the fall of the Roman Empire was as eagerly awaited.
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Happyexpat   04:37 PM on 11/20/2010
Just how stupid does Sweden think we are?
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RhinnoSnot   09:12 AM on 11/20/2010
Sweden has an independent judiciary and is not subservient to the executive branch or their parliament. Sweden, like all Nordic countries, is a friend of the US, but not a strategic ally. Sweden’s neutrality doctrine has long dominated its foreign policy.
Sweden would not give one ice sickle about the Pentagon's frustration over unconfirmed battle reports ending up in the hands of a shady blogger.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
sviolette   09:20 PM on 11/20/2010
Unconfirmed battle reports? The pentagon has admitted that the documents are legit and they are actual reports. That would make them confirmed would it not?
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RhinnoSnot   12:44 AM on 11/21/2010
Not Necessarily, I am a defense contractor in Theater.
Someone walks into my office and says they heard a generator exploded. I shoot an e-mail and, within an hour, it is “a statement of fact” that insurgents attacked a base and struck a generator with an RPG.
Later on that day, I walk past a perfectly functioning generator. Apparently, someone saw it spark and called it in to our office. That’s it.
This happens almost every day. Wiki links pulls that one e-mail, which insurgents attacked a generator, out of DOD servers. They present them to the public. You confirm it to be true as long as it fits your politics.
This place is a rumor mill; I do not believe anything unless I see it with my own two eyes.
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SDB2   03:03 AM on 11/20/2010
J Edgar Hoover's Spinning in his grave
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
iLoveOldNY   07:11 PM on 11/19/2010
Maybe Sweden needs an international boycott.
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loki   06:05 PM on 11/19/2010
why would someone apparently very intelligent, and who has the worlds more destructive super power after him, even consider rape? He wouldnt and that is why this story is bogus. Its a US hit to get him put down. That is all.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Linda Williams   03:50 PM on 11/20/2010
The will to rape has nothing more to do with intelligence than any social behavior has to do with intelligence. There are socially immature or evil intelligent people. That said, I don't believe he did it, either. It's a frame and that is all there is to it. If this does not work, the US or someone else will find something else to pin on him. That is why the brave die lonely. The truly brave. Everyone admires the work accomplished but when the crap hits the fan supporters (including those who have benefited from the bravery) run for cover. It is as old as mankind. And, womenkind. F&F
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Florence Baumgartner   09:59 PM on 11/20/2010
I think it was found that the two women invoking rape have links with US government.
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loki   06:04 PM on 11/19/2010
yup, this is got to be a total US instigated set up. It totally wreaks of it. He will either go down now, or will have to go into hiding somewhere, and I'm sure soon to be placed next to bin ladin on the FBI list. Difference is, the US wants to stop him so they eventually will. Unlike Bin Ladin.
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jrb35   04:22 PM on 11/20/2010
BS. Sweden has a world class justice system that doesn't charge people with major crimes unless their is evidence. There is due process and transparency.
minusthefactor   12 minutes ago (3:48 PM)
LOL
End All Empire   05:35 PM on 11/19/2010
The US gov't has part of its psy-ops character assassination.
logicanada   04:14 PM on 11/19/2010
Gee, next they'll be saying he's a branch of al Qaida.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Linda Williams   03:52 PM on 11/20/2010
Good ploy on the US part since much of al Qaida is trained by the US. So, sad.
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1776 or 1984   01:54 PM on 11/19/2010
This is complete bullshi/

The Empire has no morals, is depraved and will stoop to any level to get what it wants.

History will honor you Mr. Wikileaks.
IhateNeoCons   01:50 PM on 11/19/2010
I've been loath to assume this was a false rape charge in the past, despite the extremely suspicious nature of the charges. However, it is extraordinarily hard to understand how two women show up to file rape charges together. What, within days of being raped they just happen to turn to each other and then lo and behold, they were both raped...and wait a minute...by the same man! This prosecutor who thinks that a world-wide warrant is an appropriate means to compell an "interrogation" also seems to be off the deep end. It would seem to be an extreme measure to take for this type of crime. I suspect she's been paid off by the spooks. They only want to beat the bushes and get him out in the open so they can get their hands on him, and this prosecutor is facilitating the abuse of the Swedish justice system to achieve this. Criminal.
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audadvnc   01:31 PM on 11/19/2010
The fix is in. This is what happens to people that dare speak the truth.
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WoodyCPM   04:43 PM on 11/20/2010
They crucified Jesus for it, which was the whole point of the Gospels. If you tell the truth, expect to die for it, especially if what you're doing is a threat to the Empire. That's why all our mainstream journalists are stenographers and not real journalists.
Old Claudius   07:37 PM on 11/20/2010
There are people still today who are trying to make cases that Jesus raped John, or Mary Magdelane, or both.

For this, if the case of Jesus is any indicator, Assange may be facing accusations and having his case reopened for thousands of years.
elanenergy   10:01 AM on 11/19/2010
I am always torn on this cat Julian Assange. He appears to be a fierce advocate for freedom of the press; and in exposing war crimes, both of which, to me, are the most noble of values. And yet, how could he possibly be so sideways with a feminist, or be so wholly stupid about dating/rel­ationships to get himself into this mess? Julian Assange is either an extreme patriot, or an extreme pig. Or both. Jury is still out, literally and figuratively.

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