In about-face, Sweden offers to question Assange in London

[Lite Beer]

In about-face, Sweden offers to question Assange in London
JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press
KARL RITTER, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Julian Assange and his supporters warily welcomed a surprise U-turn Friday by Swedish prosecutors, who now say they are willing to come to London to quiz the WikiLeaks founder over alleged sex crimes.

The reversal, however, doesn't mean the anti-secrecy activist will soon be leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London, his home and prison for almost three years.

Since 2010, Swedish prosecutors have sought to question Assange over sex allegations made by two women. Assange fought extradition through the British courts and, when that failed, holed up inside Ecuador's small diplomatic mission. British police stand guard around the clock at the building, ready to arrest him if he steps outside.

Assange denies the allegations against him, and believes extradition to Sweden is merely a first step in efforts to remove him to the U.S., where WikiLeaks infuriated officials by publishing secret documents including 250,000 State Department cables. Former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for passing those documents to WikiLeaks and the U.S. investigation into WikiLeaks is ongoing.

On Friday, Swedish prosecutors reversed their long refusal to question Assange inside his London bolt hole, citing the five-year statute of limitations on some of the allegations against him.

One of Assange's defense lawyers, Per Samuelson, called the about-face "a great victory for Julian Assange," and indicated the 43-year-old Australian would likely agree to be questioned.

"This is something we've demanded for over four years," Samuelson told The Associated Press after speaking to Assange on Friday. "Julian Assange wants to be interviewed so he can be exonerated."

Sweden ordered Assange's arrest in August 2010. He has not been formally indicted, but he faces allegations of rape, sexual molestation and illegal coercion involving two women. The latter two allegations expire after five years, rape after 10 years.

Lead Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny said the looming deadline had prompted her change of mind.

"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview, and that he would need to be present in Sweden in any case should there be a trial in the future," Ny said in a statement.

"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that the interview does not move the case forward."

It was unclear how soon a prosecutor could come to London.

Ny said she had asked Assange's legal team on Friday if she could interview him in London and have his DNA sample taken with a swab. She said permission was also being sought from Ecuadorean authorities.

"We cannot say when we will go there," Rosander said. "We cannot make any guesses, because it depends on circumstances that are outside our reach. We need to get a go-ahead from the British and the Ecuadorean authorities."

Britain's Foreign Office said it was "ready to assist the Swedish prosecutor as required." British officials would be overjoyed to see a resolution to the stalemate, which has cost taxpayers 10 million pounds ($15 million) in police costs.

Britain has previously said "voluntarily providing a statement or taking part in an interview are issues which should be agreed between the Swedish prosecutor, Mr. Assange and the Ecuadorean Embassy."

Ecuador's Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino, said Ecuador had offered to have Assange questioned when he arrived at the embassy years ago.

"If Ecuador's offer from 1,000 days ago to take a statement had been accepted, we would have all been spared a lot of money and a lot of annoyance," he tweeted.

Friday's move comes after Assange appealed his detention order to Sweden's Supreme Court, which earlier this week asked the country's prosecutor-general to issue an opinion.

Samuelson said the prosecutor-general had probably ordered Ny to move the case forward by traveling to London. Rosander, of the prosecutor's office, declined to comment.

Journalist and filmmaker John Pilger, a member of Assange's legal defense fund, said the Swedish prosecutor's delay in offering to come to London had "kept Assange trapped in the U.K. while the U.S. continues to pursue its unprecedented espionage case" against him and WikiLeaks.

"She has wasted four and a half years of Assange's life ... Her behavior is scandalous," Pilger said.

WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said the Swedish offer did not mean Assange would be able to walk out of the embassy anytime soon.

"We have to worry about the ongoing criminal investigation in the United States," he said.

Ny has dismissed claims of any U.S. involvement in the Swedish sex crimes investigation.

___

Ritter reported from Are, Sweden. AP writer Jan M. Olsen contributed from Copenhagen.

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-14

[Seastallion]

It's all a big farce. It's clear (if you read the whole Assange in Sweden story) that "outside forces" are at play in the Swedish justice/political system.

It doesn't take much to guess what those "outside forces" are.

But has the US requested extradition from the UK? If not, and if Sweden drops the case, then Assange should be free to leave the embassy to get on a plane to Ecuador.

[Ulysses G.]

"She has wasted four and a half years of Assange's life"

The blame is on him for refusing to act lawfully.

[steve187]

there is a lot more going on behind the scenes somewhere, than comes to the public's attention

why oh why are the police guarding the embassy, its nothing to do with the Brits, The British police have suffered savage cuts, and the met are using up at least 8 police or more per day to guard someone that hasn't committed a crime in the UK.

[Ulysses G.]

Nonsense. Assange jumped bail in the UK. THAT is a crime.

[guap]

bloody good reason to never go to britain or sweeden I would say.

[Seastallion]

there is a lot more going on behind the scenes somewhere, than comes to the public's attention

why oh why are the police guarding the embassy, its nothing to do with the Brits, The British police have suffered savage cuts, and the met are using up at least 8 police or more per day to guard someone that hasn't committed a crime in the UK.

Over 10 million pounds to lie in wait for a bail-jumper. Sounds very excessive.

Sounds absurdly excessive for the fact that the bail was posted for no crime, but for a foreign jurisdiction's extradition hearing.

Outside forces at work in Britain as well as Sweden.

[RuamRudy]

It is unfortunate that he comes across as quite a cold person - it makes it easy for the media to portray him as some sort of egotistical enemy of the people, whilst diverting attention from the important work being done by wikileaks.

[ugghuggh]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

[RuamRudy]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

Far be it from me to defend him (I already stated that he makes it somewhat difficult to empathise with him) but he has not been convicted of any crime, so he must be presumed innocent until found otherwise,

Also, the charges against him are not quite how you have chosen to term them: "non-consensual behaviour within consensual sexual encounters" does not suggest rape, the key term being "consensual sexual encounters". Of course, if he is guilty of the charges posed then he should face the consequences, but it all seems a bit sinister, what with the US and UK apoplectic about Wikileaks revealing their illegal activities, and the, then, Swedish centre-right government backing up the coalition.

[Scott]

A post with the same old unsubstantiated conspiracy stuff that has appeared over and over again on previous threads has been removed. Stick to the topic.

[dexterm]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

He is not a rapist. He has never been charged with anything. You seem to be acting judge and jury.

"The persecution of Julian Assange must end. Even the British government clearly believes it must end. On 28 October, the deputy foreign minister, Hugo Swire, told Parliament he would "actively welcome" the Swedish prosecutor in London and "we would do absolutely everything to facilitate that". The tone was impatient."

http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-siege-of-julian-assange-is-a-farce-a-special-investigation

Edited March 14, 2015 by dexterm

[phrodan]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

He is not a rapist. He has never been charged with anything. You seem to be acting judge and jury.

You don't know if he is a rapist and neither do I.

What we do know is that he has refused to submit to the legal process in two countries, that's all.

It will be a court of law that decides in the event that he is charged, and so be it.

[phrodan]

there is a lot more going on behind the scenes somewhere, than comes to the public's attention

why oh why are the police guarding the embassy, its nothing to do with the Brits, The British police have suffered savage cuts, and the met are using up at least 8 police or more per day to guard someone that hasn't committed a crime in the UK.

Over 10 million pounds to lie in wait for a bail-jumper. Sounds very excessive.

Sounds absurdly excessive for the fact that the bail was posted for no crime, but for a foreign jurisdiction's extradition hearing.

Outside forces at work in Britain as well as Sweden.

Nonsense.

Look at the alternative - let him jump bail, waltz to Heathrow Airport and fly out of the country? The British public wouldn't stand for it.

Justice comes at a high cost, sometimes. But of we don't pay it, havoc will follow.

[Linky]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

He is not a rapist. He has never been charged with anything. You seem to be acting judge and jury.

You don't know if he is a rapist and neither do I.

What we do know is that he has refused to submit to the legal process in two countries, that's all.

It will be a court of law that decides in the event that he is charged, and so be it.

Nonsense, he has not refused to submit to the legal processes. Sweden want to question him, he has never refused to be questioned. Please read before you post.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Linky

[Chicog]

Unless the Swedes drop the investigation or admit that it was contrived to get Assange into US custody, he's going to be living in that Embassy until 2020.

Personally I think it's contrived, because there has never been anything stopping them from interviewing him other than the desire to get him back to Sweden.

The whole thing stinks.

...the clock is ticking because under Swedish law there is a time limit for investigating some offences. In Mr Assange's case, prosecutors only have until August 2015 to question him about some of the allegations, although they have until 2020 to investigate the most serious alleged rape offence.

It remains unclear how Friday's move affects Julian Assange's battle in Sweden's Supreme Court, which earlier this week agreed to hear the Wikileaks founder's appeal to have the European arrest warrant against him lifted, as he continues to fight extradition to Sweden.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31867829

[dexterm]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

He is not a rapist. He has never been charged with anything. You seem to be acting judge and jury.

You don't know if he is a rapist and neither do I.

What we do know is that he has refused to submit to the legal process in two countries, that's all.

It will be a court of law that decides in the event that he is charged, and so be it.

As you well know it is not as simple as that, but don't wish to go off topic.

If it were as simple as that the Swedish prosecutor would have interviewed Assange in Sweden before he left after staying several weeks voluntarily, or in London, or by videolink, or by interview at the Ecuadorian embassy...all permissible under Swedish law.

..at last she is doing so after 4 years and ££m of UK taxpayers' money.

Can someone explain what "lower the quality of the interview" means? It's certainly proved an expensive one. What question can you ask him in person in Sweden that you cannot ask him in person at the Ecuadorian embassy?

Edited March 14, 2015 by dexterm

[Chicog]

The problem is that several governments hate this man.

Fortunately he's under one that has to play by the rules.

Otherwise I think he'd have gone missing by now.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Chicog

[Scott]

Off-topic posts have been removed. He is not in Sweden and isn't going to Sweden. He will be questioned in the UK. The topic is not about the US.

[phrodan]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

He is not a rapist. He has never been charged with anything. You seem to be acting judge and jury.

You don't know if he is a rapist and neither do I.

What we do know is that he has refused to submit to the legal process in two countries, that's all.

It will be a court of law that decides in the event that he is charged, and so be it.

As you well know it is not as simple as that, but don't wish to go off topic.

If it were as simple as that the Swedish prosecutor would have interviewed Assange in Sweden before he left after staying several weeks voluntarily, or in London, or by videolink, or by interview at the Ecuadorian embassy...all permissible under Swedish law.

..at last she is doing so after 4 years and ££m of UK taxpayers' money.

Can someone explain what "lower the quality of the interview" means? It's certainly proved an expensive one. What question can you ask him in person in Sweden that you cannot ask him in person at the Ecuadorian embassy?

I'm picking you up on your declaration that he is not a rapist, something that you cannot know for certain.

The British public would much rather he was in Sweden and out of our hands. Equally, the British public would not tolerate him being allowed to waltz to Heathrow Airport and fly out unencumbered.

He made a rod for his won back - and it doesn't matter how much it costs - he'll answer. And now? don't be shocked if the Swede's drop the investigation, and the Brits jail him for ninety days for jumping bail.

And the British public will cheer that, you better believe it.

[Linky]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..
He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.
All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.
And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.
He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.
Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

He is not a rapist. He has never been charged with anything. You seem to be acting judge and jury.

You don't know if he is a rapist and neither do I.

What we do know is that he has refused to submit to the legal process in two countries, that's all.

It will be a court of law that decides in the event that he is charged, and so be it.

As you well know it is not as simple as that, but don't wish to go off topic.

If it were as simple as that the Swedish prosecutor would have interviewed Assange in Sweden before he left after staying several weeks voluntarily, or in London, or by videolink, or by interview at the Ecuadorian embassy...all permissible under Swedish law.

..at last she is doing so after 4 years and ££m of UK taxpayers' money.

Can someone explain what "lower the quality of the interview" means? It's certainly proved an expensive one. What question can you ask him in person in Sweden that you cannot ask him in person at the Ecuadorian embassy?

I'm picking you up on your declaration that he is not a rapist, something that you cannot know for certain.

The British public would much rather he was in Sweden and out of our hands. Equally, the British public would not tolerate him being allowed to waltz to Heathrow Airport and fly out unencumbered.

He made a rod for his won back - and it doesn't matter how much it costs - he'll answer. And now? don't be shocked if the Swede's drop the investigation, and the Brits jail him for ninety days for jumping bail.

And the British public will cheer that, you better believe it.

Some will cheer and some won't. But nice to know you speak for the British public.

[dexterm]

phrodan,

He made a rod for his own back

I've got a feeling Sweden and quite a few other countries have been manufacturing rods too.Does UK wish to extend this fiasco and fabricate another one?

If Sweden drops the investigation, then that will prove Assange was right all along after every opportunity to interview him had been ignored by the Swedes. And that the original UK arrest warrant was invalid, since Sweden's was too. Get Geoffery Robertson on the case.

Ergo, there was very good reason for him to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy to escape the legal nitpickers. Where's justice in all this for a possibly false accused man? I've looked at the evidence myself...extremely flimsy. But the consequences for Assange could have been horrendous. I and many others on this forum would have done the same thing had we been in his shoes.

Sometimes the law is an ass.

Edited March 14, 2015 by dexterm

[phrodan]

phrodan,

He made a rod for his own back

I've got a feeling Sweden and quite a few other countries have been manufacturing rods too.Does UK wish to extend this fiasco and fabricate another one?

If Sweden drops the investigation, then that will prove Assange was right all along after every opportunity to interview him had been ignored by the Swedes.

Ergo, there was very good reason for him to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Sometimes the law is an ass.

Nonsense - he has clearly jumped bail, hence no fabrication required.

I've watched the Assange situ with interest. I have no opinion either way as to his guilt and/or conspiracy theories. I can also see the pro's and con's of his leaks.

The one thing that has struck me is the amount of people that rallied to his "cause." If he ends up being convicted, the majority of these people will refuse to accept it was a righteous verdict.

he may well be innocent, but then again - he may also be a high profile sex offender who has been hiding in plain sight, just like so many others. And what for his supporters? It could well be that they are nothing more than useful idiots to him.

[car720]

"She has wasted four and a half years of Assange's life"

The blame is on him for refusing to act lawfully.

I cannot remember who it was that said...."laws are made to be broken".

[RuamRudy]

"She has wasted four and a half years of Assange's life"

The blame is on him for refusing to act lawfully.

He exposed to the world the unlawful (and, in some cases, utterly inept) actions of the most powerful and most underhand nation on earth - I think he can be forgiven for not trusting either the British or Swedish governments; the former being complicit in the US' crimes, the latter being, at the time, an ardent supporter of those crimes.

[phrodan]

phrodan,

He made a rod for his own back

I've got a feeling Sweden and quite a few other countries have been manufacturing rods too.Does UK wish to extend this fiasco and fabricate another one?

If Sweden drops the investigation, then that will prove Assange was right all along after every opportunity to interview him had been ignored by the Swedes.

Ergo, there was very good reason for him to seek refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Sometimes the law is an ass.

Nonsense - he has clearly jumped bail, hence no fabrication required.

I've watched the Assange situ with interest. I have no opinion either way as to his guilt and/or conspiracy theories. I can also see the pro's and con's of his leaks.

The one thing that has struck me is the amount of people that rallied to his "cause." If he ends up being convicted, the majority of these people will refuse to accept it was a righteous verdict.

he may well be innocent, but then again - he may also be a high profile sex offender who has been hiding in plain sight, just like so many others. And what for his supporters? It could well be that they are nothing more than useful idiots to him.

The case was thrown out by the original Swedish prosecutor in 2010, then strangely reinstated.

He would have answered his accusers in court years ago, but for the elephant in the room.

Read the last 3 sentences of the OP. There's your answer.

Uhuhu -

Are you aware that the case was reopened before the primary leak of US documents? Well before.

A fact that many people choose to overlook.

Anyway, I've spent enough time discussing this issue. All the best.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed.

[RuamRudy]

The case was thrown out by the original Swedish prosecutor in 2010, then strangely reinstated.

He would have answered his accusers in court years ago, but for the elephant in the room.

Read the last 3 sentences of the OP. There's your answer.

Uhuhu -

Are you aware that the case was reopened before the primary leak of US documents? Well before.

A fact that many people choose to overlook.

Anyway, I've spent enough time discussing this issue. All the best.

Facts? Seems like you know nothing of facts.

From Wikpedia:

WikiLeaks posted large amounts of material revealing arguably-wrongful government and corporate actions between 2006 and 2009, attracting various degrees of publicity.^[49] But it was only when it began publishing documents supplied by Chelsea Manning that Wikileaks became a household name.^[50] The Manning material included the Collateral Murder video (April 2010),^[51] the Afghanistan war logs (July 2010), the Iraq war logs (October 2010), a quarter of a million diplomatic cables (November 2010), and the Guantánamo files (April 2011).

Also from Wikipedia:

Assange is wanted for questioning over one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation, and one count of lesser-degree rape (mindre grov våldtäkt)^[116] alleged to have been committed against two women during a visit to Sweden in August 2010.^{[117][118][119]} The allegations are of "non-consensual behaviour within consensual sexual encounters."^[120] One of the allegations is that, during consensual intercourse, Assange ejaculated inside of one of the women against her wishes.^[121] Assange denies the allegations.^[122]

[humqdpf]

It's all a big farce. It's clear (if you read the whole Assange in Sweden story) that "outside forces" are at play in the Swedish justice/political system.

It doesn't take much to guess what those "outside forces" are.

But has the US requested extradition from the UK? If not, and if Sweden drops the case, then Assange should be free to leave the embassy to get on a plane to Ecuador.

As far as I understand this, it is not possible for the UK to extradite Assange to the USA because of legal reasons (UK does not have the same charges as the USA want to apply in this case). I believe that the USA tried that strategy in a UK court but failed. Hence the Swedish manoeuvre - and if there is no case to answer, Assange is free to travel to leave the embassy and travel to any country that does not extradite to the USA based on the law that the USA wants to apply in this case.

Actually he would be well-advised not to go to countries where the USA has a broad extradition treaty in place as the USA could just apply for extradition and have him incarcerated for the duration of the extradition case.

[steve187]

As a power driven rapist he should just step down from WL. Kind of defeating their purpose..

He is actually not the victim here and deserves no attention.

All this bull is just to play up his ego and own importance.

And of course being exposed and convicted as a rapist would hopefully be the end of his credibility.

He has now suffered a longer and worse detention than he ever would have gotten in Sweden. So sweden should just find him guilty, consider time served and not waste more money and give more publicity to the <deleted>.

Similarly uk should pull back the surveillance. Who gives a shit about that <deleted>.

You forgot '' alleged''