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Sweden Reopens Investigation Into Rape Claim Against Julian Assange
Country's chief prosecutor reopens case against WikiLeaks founder, overruling decision of Stockholm chief prosecutor
STOCKHOLM -- A senior Swedish prosecutor reopened a rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday, the latest twist to a puzzling case in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks at a news conference in London, July 26, 2010. Sweden's Chief Prosecutor said on Wednesday she was reopening a preliminary investigation into rape charges against Assange. (REUTERS/Andrew Winning/Files) Assange has denied the allegations and suggested they are part of a smear campaign by opponents of WikiLeaks - an online whistle-blower that has angered Washington by publishing thousands of leaked documents about U.S. military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The case was dismissed last week by Eva Finne, chief prosecutor in Stockholm, who overruled a lower-ranked prosecutor and said there was no reason to suspect that Assange, an Australian citizen, had raped a Swedish woman who had reported him to police.
The woman's lawyer appealed the decision. Director of Public Prosecution Marianne Ny decided to reopen the case Wednesday, saying new information had come in on Tuesday.
"We went through all the case material again, including what came in, and that's when I made my decision," to reopen the case, Ny told The Associated Press by phone.
She declined to say what new information she had received or whether Assange, who was questioned by investigators on Monday, would be arrested.
An arrest warrant issued Aug. 20 was withdrawn within 24 hours amid the back-and-forth between prosecutors.
Ny said "it's not entirely uncommon" that such reversals take place in Sweden, in particular regarding allegations of sex crimes.
Ny also decided that another complaint against Assange should be investigated on suspicion of "sexual coercion and sexual molestation." That overruled a previous decision to only investigate the case as "molestation," which is not a sex offense under Swedish law.
Investigators have not released details about either case, though a police report obtained by the AP shows 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.
Wikileaks made headlines around the world July 25 when it released tens of thousands of pages of secret U.S. documents about Afghanistan.
Assange is seeking legal protection for WikiLeaks in Sweden, one of the countries where the group says it has servers. The Swedish Migration Board has confirmed that Assange has applied for a work and residence permit in the Scandinavian country.
Assange did not immediately respond to the rape case being reopened, and his defense lawyer Leif Silbersky didn't answer calls seeking comment.
WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson said the group backs Assange.
"We hope that he will clear his name and meanwhile the WikiLeaks organization is going on with its endeavors," Hrafnsson told AP.
WikiLeaks says it intends to publish 15,000 more Afghan war documents in coming weeks, a disclosure that U.S. officials say could endanger innocent people or confidential informants.
Claes Borgstrom, a lawyer who represents both women, welcomed the decision Wednesday.
"This is a redress for my clients, I have to say, because they have been dragged through the mud on the Internet, for having made things up or intending to frame Assange," Borgstrom said.
Borgstrom had previously dismissed rumors that the sex allegations were part of a conspiracy against Assange, saying "There is not an ounce of truth in all this about Pentagon, or the CIA, or smear campaigns, nothing like it."
Associated Press writers Karl Ritter in Stockholm and Ian MacDougall in Oslo, Norway, contributed to this report.
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Show AllHeadline: "Sweden Reopens Investigation Into Rape Claim Against Julian Assange" It should read "Pentagon TELLS Sweden to Reopen Investigation Into Rape Claim Against Julian Assange"
Exactly.
It seems that these two women were pissed that Assange didn't call them after sleeping with them.
If he had called them up and maybe screwed them again, then they wouldn't have tried to get him in trouble.
This doesn't give one a very good impression of Swedish women.
Flakey!
He being a trophy husband of the intelligent middle-class, one would think this be the last thing the girls would want to do. But then, getting a million each for this court room soap box opera, this can buy the girls one hunk of a man. Even split the cost by sharing the man.
2 women are representative of all Swedish women?
WikiLeaks should also become a whistle-blowing website for financial fraud. But instead trying to frame Julian Assange for sexual assault, as the war criminals at the Pentagon are trying to do, the financial fraudsters on Wall Street would’ve skipped over all of that sissy stuff and gone straight for his jugular.
2 question need to be answer
which side initiated the contact and did the woman knew each other
as of know it smells like a classic sting operation
edweg
This thing stinks to high heaven. And I agree with COOOLHEAD . . . even if Assange is cleared, the point of this whole thing is to convict him in the court of public opinion, and it seems to be working.
As the late, great J.D. Salinger observed, “Where there's smoke, there's usually strawberry Jello.”
Brilliant! Thank you!
The most revealing comment on this whole affair comes from another who experienced the same treatment, Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan. As he says on his blog:
"The Russians call it Kompromat - the use by the state of sexual accusations to destroy a public figure. When I was attacked in this way by the government I worked for, Uzbek dissidents smiled at me, shook their heads and said 'Kompromat'. They were used to it from the Soviet and Uzbek governments. They found it rather amusing to find that Western governments did it too.
"Well, Julian Assange has been getting the bog standard Kompromat. I had imagined he would get something rather more spectacular, like being framed for murder and found hanging with an orange in his mouth. He deserves a better class of kompromat. If I am a whistleblower, then Julian is a veritable mighty pipe organ. Yet we just have the normal sex stuff, and very weak."
He has more to say here, http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/index.html
Interesting to note that the corporate news media is all over these allegations of rape. Could they possibly be taking sides with the pentagon, eager to tarnish wikileak's name?
Sad to note that none of them have dared ask why there's been no prosecution for war crimes, even after films and eyewitness testimony of Private McCord at
http://collateralmurder.com
It seems that there have been too many war crimes and crimes against humanity by the USA in the last ten years to count, and that those most responsible are protected by the secret service, congress. the supreme court, and others.
So, what about justice? Is it a long forgotten aspect of the past?
Ignoring war crimes is a great way of encouraging terrorists & enemies. I think that's what the US ruling elite want. War is so very profitable for them.
What I found interesting about the CounterPunch article was noting that the Swedish newspaper that's jumping all over this is right-wing, very pro-Zionist, etc., sort of like Sweden's version of Fox News.
Thanks you for that info.
Do the people instinctively leaping to Assange's defense, and ranting about "authoritarian matriachs" realise that it is IN ASSANGE'S INTEREST that this case be thoroughly, and publicly investigated?
Better for him to have this thoroughly investigated, and have as many details publicised as possible, than simply have the accusations hanging on in the background.
I think Murray's comments on this affair are quite correct:
"Another fascinating point about kompromat is that being cleared of the allegations - as happens in virtually every case - doesn't help, as the blackening of reputation has taken effect. In my own case I was formerly cleared of all allegations of both misconduct and gross misconduct, except for the Kafkaesque charge of having told defence witnesses of the existence of the allegations. The allegations were officially a state secret, even though it was the government who leaked them to the tabloids."
I think it ought to be clear to most outside of the USA that this affair is a part of many multiple attempts by the US to degrade Wikileaks effectiveness. And in this case it is very important to remember the US Propaganda System is global in its reach, and aspect noted by Putin shortly after Russia's defense of Ossetia from the Georgian invasion and censored by CNN from its video interview with Putin but not from the transcript.
Well, the blackening has already taken effect.
In that case, it is better to have as many details, including details about the accusers, publicised as possible.
And there's a difference of being cleared of all accusations (but with many details obscured), and having as much info out in the public domain as possible.
Worse comes to worse, assuming Assange is innocent, and his rep is blackened, I'm sure those who support him, in Sweden, would help him leak (all the) details out into the public domain.
I think most people having an understanding of the falsity of US Imperial justifications for its wars will see this affair for what it is and futher their resolve to critically investigate anything said by the US Empire, its allies, and particularly the Propaganda System. The smearing does nothing to deminish the authenticity or import of the documents Wikileaks publishes. Certainly, I expect this whole affair has its own string of classified communications that will likely be leaked soon and published. Swedish politics are likely to be effected in a positive manner, too. As with most CD readers, his cred will only rise the more the Empire pursues him.
Haven't run into this name before... You receiving a check from the CIA or Mossad? Lmao... Anybody who gives this nonsense any merit is a brain dead idiot. Yes there are many brain dead idiots in the world but as the previous poster tried to explain to the stooge... The more it is on TV... The larger the number of brain dead idiots who give it merit. Maybe that explains rfloh after all. Lol
*yawn*.
If you're such a genius, maybe you could try refuting any of my points? No?
@karlof1, Craig Murray was a BRITISH AMBASSADOR. His job was to support BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY. British foreign policy is about helping British corporations pillage from poor nations. I asked Murray to condemn "corporate capitalism"; his response was that he has nothing against socialists - I didn't mention socialism!
In a speech, Murray praised British American Tobacco (BAT) - we all know that tobacco firms do good around the world, including providing unpaid work for children.
Murray is corrupt. If you trust him, you're an idiot.
www.markcurtis.info - for articles and info. on British foreign policy.
Look on the right, find "painful extraction" - that's a good article to start with - read the comments by "Michael", as he gives further info., though the links he typed-in are now broken/changed.
Ummmm... Compared to who? All those honest American and Swedish politicians? Wow... Are you naive! He had a reason to be truthful... He was unjustly accused. That is a rare case when you can trust a politician.
If Anna Ardin proves to be as nefarious and despicable as the preliminary reports suggest, perhaps the alternative media can refer to her as a "Rogue", "Renegade", or even "Lapsed" Feminist. ;)
Julian, with all his busy-ness with the power elite, still has time for women?
Where do I sign up? ;)
SEXIST -- A MAN HATER
Sundome
“Thank you for proving you are utterly sexist.”
LIGHT
If I had posted that the greatest pleasure for men was to rule over women, the above lady would not have called me a sexist. And she most likely would have agreed with me because it is a self evident fact and there is nothing morally or legally wrong with it. Men have to protect their daughters and wives from mortal danger, and to do it a certain degree of leadership is required.
But because I said that the greatest pleasure for women was to rule over men, Sundome comes down on me with a vengeance. I did not say that there was anything wrong with women desiring to rule over men, but Sundome used this as an excuse to show her great dislike and hostility toward me.
So tell us Sundome, exactly what is wrong with women desiring to rule over men?
Yeah, welcome to Feminist Double Standards 101.
The amazing part is the utter self righteousness with which these double standards are proclaimed.
"If I had posted that the greatest pleasure for men was to rule over women"
It would still have been bullshit based on nothing.
To be perfectly honest, i really think this is a tempest in a teapot (i have no idea why i would possibly use such an archaic turn of phrase, but what the heck.)
Most people really don't know what wikileaks is. It is not on the public radar in a big way. At least, that has been my experience. So, most americans anyway, aren't really paying much attention. It is people like us (whatever i mean by that....who knows?) who are following all of this. So. I think the whole thing is pretty useless to the powers that be, unless he goes to jail.
I mean, if it comes out that the guy likes to play the field, so who cares about that? The back story is that he was sexually active with two different women within a few days. Even if that is a crime in Sweden, we all know it certainly is not criminal in the least.
It puts me in mind of the israeli woman who brought charges against the Palestinian man for claiming he was Jewish before she slept with him. I mean, it is the way of the world. Not the nicest way, to be sure. But we are all adults here and responsible for our own choices. No do overs where sex is involved. Sorry.
I originally thought that the first woman was just pissed off because she may have thought there was a relationship in the offing, and she didn't realize he was a 'player'. I personally couldn't care less if it is true, although i certainly understood if she felt hurt. Even if it wasn't done for any other reason, than her wounded pride, she is still immature and spiteful and that offends me anyway.
He is an attractive, courageous guy. The women were both adults and knew what they were doing. And they knew who he was because he was the public speaker. Although it was not wise of him to sleep with members of his audience. I hope he learns from this experience. We need him as a free man.
Now, if he would ever come to nyc or phila. to speak....... ;-) (sorry, i just couldn't resist)
Since this post was offensive to another poster, i want to state officially that i personally believe this is a smear campaign. I may have been too subtle. And, God forbid, a bit on the light hearted side. Some humour is a good thing in these times.
FWIW, readytotransform, I picked up what you were putting down.
And Amen! to your admission of being objectively pro-humor. Not that I think you're having second thoughts about it, but I've always gotten good mileage out of the concept of "F--k 'em if they can't take a joke."
The occasional snippy comeback or melodramatic High Dudgeon from some We Are Not Amused-type is occasionally briefly disconcerting, but no worse that what happens sometimes when one parks one's car under a tree.
I daresay-- or darequote-- "Hell hath no fury...", but even THAT might get spite-flagged in a thread where Feelings Are Running High. ;)
You are so refreshing, O.S. Thank you for your presence here!
Isn't it interesting how you can never tell what articles are going to cause havoc on the threads? I admit, i don't read that many of the pieces, nor follow many threads. And yet.... i sometimes am rather speechless.
yours truly,
rita
You are just plain wrong. There was a 5 point drop in the polls right after the leak for support for the war in Afghanistan... It has dropped a few points further since. The lesson the pentagon learned from vietnam was go to an all volunteer force and control the media. It has been a smashing victory for them. They can't win in the ME but they RULE the sheep in the US. These false accusations and Obama's Iraq "withdrawal" and TV appearance are all part of shoring up the declining support for these imperial adventures
dboylan, To be honest, five percent, statistically speaking, is possibly within the margin of error. But the point is that my guess is the drop was not the mainstream american population. And it depends a lot upon how the questions were asked. I don't think too much of pollsters.
No disrespect intended, either. And, i could be wrong.
peace.
You are wrong. Wikileaks is an unsecured source of information. You have no idea how weak the empire really is. It is hanging by a thread right now. I can't predict if it will fail this year or not. At some poibt Asia is going to decide they can support themselves and renegotiate terms for sales to the West. They make the things the world wants to buy. Just like the US did before the collapse of the empire "the sun never sets on". Lol. The empire rests of world confidence. It will not last... We are beyond the point of no return. The tea partiers are right in one respect. Bullets, guns, silver, and gold. Everything else is bullshit
I really don't get into these quasi arguments on here. I have enough stress without going out of my way to seek it out. Animosity isn't my favorite attitude and it isn't what i am about. However, in a gracious manner i will respond to your response. There are other posters i won't bother to engage with, because they argue both sides in the same breath and have an awful lot of anger which they direct at complete strangers here. Anyway.
My understanding of how far we have come to the edge of the cliff is rather well developed, which you wouldn't really have any way of knowing, based upon how little i have shared here. However, i don't feel that the polls following the wikileaks information is the proof of this. I think it is crash and burn time and everyone knows it. That is why so many are freaking out in so many ways. And many posts on this article are no exception, quite frankly. I don't think i've ever seen so much rage and irrationality in response to any article thus far, on CD.
Insults are just offensive and who needs it from total strangers? Assumptions about others' realities, based upon a paragraph or a couple sentences is what i expect from the tea partiers. I feel like i need to have an inner cleanse after reading through some of the mean spirited threads here.
I for one, am 'out of here'.
peace.
USan elites have bribed the accuser and her lawyer, and prosecutors. We know they won't allow the rule of law to interfere with their imperial agenda. Their illegal invasion of Iraq, serial violations of the Geneva Conventions (torture, kidnapping), defiance of the UN charter, which is the law of the land, violations of the FISA eavesdropping warrant law, suspension of habeas corpus, myriad violations of ethical standards not yet written into law, and worldwide rejection of their imperial agenda makes it difficult to imagine USan elites, or their agents (like those who targeted ACORN), would not be involved in false allegations against the leaker of their imperial secrets.
@readytotransform, your post was just incredible.
Could you tell me what you know that the rest of us don't? If this isn't a frame-up, then YOU don't know anything about Assange or these women. What you wrote was a work of pure fiction.
The more I find out about "progressives", the more I believe, as a group, you are little better than the criminals in government.
Have no idea what you are talking about - regarding either my post or 'progrssives'. But i won't take it personally.
Hopefully, 'progrssives' have a sense of humour about themselves. It is healthy, you see. For anyone, really. And.
By the way, i didn't say it wasn't a set up, did i? I said it was quite a lame one, because unless he goes to jail, as far as the masses in the u.s. are concerned, this is not on the radar. I talk to lots of 'non progressives' on a daily basis, and they usually never heard of Wikileaks. So the smear campaign, as far as americans go. Either we already know it is, those who follow this closely. Or it isn't in their awareness.
Plus, as i said, so what if he was with two women within a few days? Do *you* have a problem with that? I don't find that to be a very big smear. But, to each his own. Maybe to 'Christians' it is. But i don't think the tea party crowd are real aware of Julian Assange. Just a hunch.
Peace.
@readytotransform, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Your post is full of surmises and hypotheses.
Could you tell me what you know about Assange and these women that the rest of us don't?
The allegations are rape and molestation NOT seeing two women.
I'm not right-wing, Republican, or a member of the Tea Party (or any party!). Just because I don't cheer on "my" group like a partisan maniac doesn't make me a fascist thug.
You all sound like Michael Jackson fans. The fact is, Jackson COULD have committed a serious crime, and his fanatics WOULD have defended him - NO MATTER WHAT!
WikiLeaks does NOT disclose what it does with its donations. Why the secrecy? I'd like that rectified. WikiLeaks doesn't need the Pentagon to make people suspicious:
"WikiLeaks Cash Flows In, Drips Out":
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/wikileaks-funding/
I've made a donation to help buy Bradley Manning a legal team:
www.bradleymanning.org
So don't accuse me of supporting the status quo.
NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE IF YOU JUST SIT AROUND LISTENING TO YOUR DAMN HEROES.
If blackening Assange's name is enough to destroy WikiLeaks reputation as a whistle-blowing site, then SHAME ON PROGRESSIVES for forcing one man to carry such a burden. Time you all got off your asses, stopped reading, stop spectating, and DID SOMETHING! You can all start by telling Assange that one man can't be responsible for WikiLeaks. Perhaps WikiLeaks should hire a spokesperson - take a leaf out of the books of CEOs! Progressives can pay for the spokesperson's salary by making sufficient donations.
All Noam Chomsky - the Progressives' exemplar - has done over the decades is take people's money. He charges $12,000 to speak, and, in return, tells his supporters to vote Democrat. HE'S CHANGED NOTHING! He even set up a trust fund to avoid paying tax - this, after all the speeches he gave condemning corporations and the wealthy for avoiding and evading tax. The man even invests in oil stocks!
If you're new to this forum, it can take some time to get used to militarist feminist nutcases.
@Martian, who are you talking to? This forum is a waste of time. All people want to do is read and talk. No wonder nothing changes.
Let's cheer on Assange, and if he's "taken out", what are you progressives going to do then?
NOTHING! NONE OF YOU DO ANYTHING!
You just find someone to worship, then have a competition over who can worship your latest hero the most.
DO YOU REALLY THINK ASSANGE IS SINGLE-HANDEDLY GOING TO CHANGE A DAMN THING? WAKE THE HELL UP!
You're like Michael Jackson fans - he was Jesus Christ, arms outstretched, children around him - they don't care about us! Heal the World!
Yeah, right!
I don't come on this forum very often so don't blame me. I already know that Assange can't do it alone. But the forum isn't a waste of time if the discussion is productive. We just have some stupid arguments about feminism.
Amen richardstone !
What do you do, newcomer richardstone? Shoot first and ask questions later? Amplify the talking points memos as a gov blogger? You sound like one of those.
If you read the article I gave a link to, and this one:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/wikileaks-submission
you'll see the WikiLeaks, earlier this year, hasn't been accepting new leaks. It also failed to renew it's SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, meaning leakers and visitors to its site are unprotected:
"Wired.com spoke by instant messenger with Ben Laurie, a noted security expert who has served as a de facto security press person for Wikileaks, and who is listed on Wikileaks's advisory board. When asked if it seemed odd that the most basic security features are missing from Wikileaks' website, Laurie said, 'I agree. I was not aware.'"
Just what is going on at WikiLeaks? The infrastructure set up to protect whistleblowers is - or was - down (no https when I visited, so their SSL certificate still hasn't been renewed despite having enough money), and Assange refuses to disclose details about WikiLeaks' expenses, yet claims his site needs donations to stay open.
Makes you wonder. Progressive also seem reluctant to donate unless WikiLeaks makes a big splash, as it did with the US helicopter video, allegedly leaked by Bradley Manning.
I see a useless bunch of progressives changing nothing. I'm not apologising for telling it how it is.
As i stated earlier... There was a 5 percent drop in polls supporting tbe war after the big leak. Everbody played it down but it scared the beejesus out of the pentagon folks. They are watching those numbers like hawks. They will not have another vietnam. They don't care about the unwinnable war mind yiu.. Probably even prefer it... But they know they need a minimum of support the keep the cash cow alive.
We've seen bigger drops in the polls supporting wars before. Wikileaks aren't changing the wars. You need to stop voting for Republicans and Democrats if you want to end the wars.
A pathetic response. I haven't voted since 2000. I do not believe in or support "american democracy" at all. It does nothing but justify the slaughter of brown skinned people the world over. I posted somwthing about being critical of people you never met before, don't know, or ever engaged in a conversation with... You are ridiculous. If you want to have a discussion fine... Let's talk outside a blog. But don't assume what i am about by a paragraph i wrote.
Then you're part of the problem by not voting. I voted for Nader so we could stop the slaughter. Where were the feminists? If you think wikileaks will change anything about the war, forget it.
Dear richardstone:
Wow, that's interesting about the Secure Sockets Layer( SSL) who is in charge of that? Please don't tell me it's the U.S. government. Well, the government does have ways of taking people down, and some are so subtle.
I suppose if people thought that they were being watched, then maybe they wouldn't go to wikileaks ever again. Wow, that's a cool and simple plan. Does this sound like something the government would do...yes, except it's so cost efficient, that I can't believe that the government would even think of it.
Gee, I don't know, if the government was on my rear, why would I tell them about my expenses? Wall St. doesn't have to, so why should any other business. including wikileaks?
You're so silly, of course Progressives change things; it just takes longer because they rarely get good media coverage, especially during presidential elections. You know, the government has a whistleblower law too, but I guess they forgot where they put it. As for the amount of time to get things done, well again, don't forget it took from 1776 to 1789 to elect the first president.
I kind of liked the 18th and 19th centuries, because they really put a lot of thought into things, and so many were such great writers. It took much longer for creepy rumors to spread. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson's opponents spread the rumor that he was dead, but it took so long for the news to reach anyone, that it didnt affect a thing!
Why would you have to aplogize for anything? If that's what you think, that's cool. I like reading commondreams because I always learn something new! I learned about wired.com from you. Thanks.