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Assange Can Be Extradited; Could Face US Death Penalty
LONDON -- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to Sweden to face rape charges, a British judge ruled on Thursday after throwing out defense arguments that he would face an unfair trial.
Judge Riddle said that it was possible Wikileaks founder Julian Assange would be re-extradited to the United States where he could face the death penalty. Assange's mother in Australia condemned the court order for his extradition to Sweden as "political and legal gang rape", the Australian Associated Press reported. Lawyers for Assange immediately said they would appeal against the decision, setting up a lengthy legal battle through Britain's courts that could postpone the 39-year-old Australian's ultimate fate for months.
"As I am satisfied that extradition is compatible with the defendant's (European) Convention rights, I must order that Mr Assange be extradited to Sweden," judge Howard Riddle said.
Speaking after the hearing at the top security Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in southeast London, Assange criticized the European system under which he was detained in December at Sweden's request.
"It is a result of the European Arrest Warrant system run amok. There was no consideration during this entire process as to the merits of the allegations against me," he told around 100 journalists from across the globe.
Assange has seven days to lodge a formal appeal. The judge gave him bail on the same conditions as before, namely that he should reside at a friend's mansion in eastern England, wear an electronic ankle tag and observe a curfew.
Celebrity backers including socialite Jemima Khan and rights campaigner Bianca Jagger also attended the hearing. Several dozen supporters, some of them in orange Guantanamo Bay-style jumpsuits, demonstrated outside the court.
Assange rocked the world's diplomatic institutions and infuriated Washington last year when his whistleblowing website began releasing hundreds of thousands of secret US State Department and military documents.
The former computer hacker says the claims against him by two women he met during a seminar organized by WikiLeaks in August last year are politically motivated because of his work.
Assange's Swedish lawyer Bjorn Hurtig made a "deliberate attempt to mislead the court" when he said that he had been unable to contact Assange to arrange an interview with Swedish prosecutors, he added.
Judge Riddle also rejected claims that Assange could not face a fair trial as some evidence would be held behind closed doors, and that it was possible he would be re-extradited to the United States where he could face the death penalty.
His lawyer Mark Stephens criticized the "tick-box justice" of the warrant system, but added: "We still remain very optimistic about our opportunities on appeal."
Claes Borgstrom, the lawyer for the two Swedish women at the center of the claims, said it was "regrettable" that Assange was appealing but that he hoped the case would be over by summer.
"Assange must respect the principles that he has expressed about WikiLeaks and take responsibility," he told the Swedish news agency TT.
The United States said the case was solely a matter for Britain and Sweden.
"Notwithstanding claims to the contrary, the US is not involved," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a Twitter message.
Assange has claimed his greatest fear was eventual extradition to the United States, where his lawyers argued he could be sent to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility or face the death penalty.
WikiLeaks last November began publishing around 250,000 US diplomatic cables. It has also leaked thousands of secret documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The mother of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange condemned Thursday a court order for his extradition to Sweden as "political and legal gang rape", the Australian Associated Press reported.
"I would say that what we're looking at here is political and legal gang rape of my son," AAP quoted Christine Assange as saying.
"It's a real David and Goliath situation," she said.
"You've got misuse of the European arrest warrant, first time ever that it's been used this way."
"What Julian through his site is proving (is) the need for WikiLeaks," his mother said. "I'm, obviously, scared for him as a mother but the world ought to be scared for its democracies."
She said that she had expected the extradition order, and that her son felt abandoned by the Australian government.
"The greatest fear I have is that the Western world in its effort to shut up someone who's telling the truth to the people of their countries will breach every piece of legislation in order to get him and will co-operate across borders to do so."
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238 Comments so far
Show AllGood for her. I'm glad she is speaking out firmly. If there are supporters of Julian in Australia, I've not seen any statements of pride in their mate. Julian would be arrested if he set foot in Australia. The world is upside down.
Today I made a post on CNN in support of Julian Assange and it was filtered and rejected by censors.
Trylon
There is no question that Sweden will send Assange to the US to be tortured since the Swedish Prime Minister owes Karl Rove for getting him elected.
Boycott the UK and Sweden.
Yeah, he'll likely end up in the cell next to Bradley Manning.
You got that RIGHT!!!
According to Manning's friend David House, this (he has been driven over the edge like Jose Padilla.) has no happened yet. Also, what was done to Padilla is far, far worse than what has been done to Manning (so far).
Jose Padilla’s “unprecedented [treatment] in the military justice system” http://bit.ly/ghYGCO
Further, such treatment would help end Wikileaks effectiveness and the veil of secrecy that despots and dictators love so much would be restored.
The Justice department has been unable to build any case against Assange:
Assange Probe Hits Snag
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703313304576132543747598766.html
U.S. investigators have been unable to uncover evidence that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange induced an Army private to leak government documents to his website, according to officials familiar with the matter.
(likeitornot) I respect your enthusiasm and your faith in your country. But you need to escape for a while from your 'America the Great bubble' and immerse yourself into international politics. Honestly, you thought enough to write a response, but ignorance is not charming.
newsqueen, loveitorleaveit is a, well .... let's just say that he hides under bridges, or that he has been known to turn his outboard motor way down when he fishes.
Best,
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
They would kill him just to satisfy their bloodlust.
It would seem the prudent thing to do except for the fact that US has a history of vengeance on those who are not on side. Exposing the hypocrisy of US foreign policy makes Assange a target for revenge and an example to be made of. But you are correct in that the cat is out of the bag. WikiLeaks and the like are game changers in the free flow of information.
"Exposing the hypocrisy of US foreign policy makes Assange a target for revenge and an example to be made of."
There's one glarring problem with your hypothesis--Chomsky, and all others of his ilk.
Chomsky is rather obscure, he's not noticed by many in the states. Assange is a bit different.
That said, it would have been better not to have the 'death penalty' tag on the headline. There's no way he'll be tried and sentenced to death; of course there are other ways of killing someone if you really really want them dead.
Several tens of million are not "many"?
As with every AFP item CD mirrors, the link is never direct to the item in question; so, there's no way to tell if that's what the original headline stated. After a quick serch to see if AFP did use the above headline, every item found was linked to the CD headline, which presumes AFP didn't concoct it, and it wouldn't be the first time I've caught CD placing a different headline over an article--an abuse of journalistic ethics in my book.
To CD I say, We are overwhelmed with sensationalism on a daily basis by the Propaganda System; why do you mimic its disgusting behavior?
no, not when those many are not in any position to do anything about what Chomsky says. What did that Walker guy say about those who went to the odd rally? If you want to protest the government of the USA you're going to need to be out there for longer than a few hours and you're going to need to create a lot more fuss.
Every newspaper writes its own headlines, for the exact same reason; to get you to read the article.
Here's a story about some women who weren't in a position to do anything until they decided to put themselves in a position to do something, http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/694/how-egyptian-women-took-back-the-street-between-two-%E2%80%9Cblack-wednesdays%E2%80%9D_a-first-person-account
This is not--at all--analogous. Chomsky writes about things that are already in the public domain, as is true for "all others of his ilk." Wikileaks put the Collateral Murder video online, as well as dairies of Afghanistan and the State Department Cables. Much more public that any thing Chomsky, et al, have ever done (unfortunately).
Also, Assange is not an American academic. He's a foreign troublemaker. I could go on, but that should be sufficient.
The newsroom has a running bet that he will be brought back to the U.S. However there is the existence of the "Insurance" file Wikileaks is maintaining. Now that should provide a really rich field of information for us to drool over.
I do hope Assange gets to play that "insurance" card before the game is over. You can bet there's more than a few assholes out there that are very afraid of having to sit at the table and wait for him to lay this hand face up.
I'm beginning to have my doubts about that "insurance" card. After all, Assange also promised us a major leak of bank documents last month that was supposed to bring down one major bank. Never happened.
Ray, frankly you are wrong. The horse is out of the barn and there is much more manure to be removed from the stalls for one. Secondly, the hubbub, as you put it, amounts to a great deal problem is that most Americans are apathetic and too damn stupid to realize the mess we're in and the mess we've caused that is going to come home to roost.
could it be for revenge? bureaucrats don't like to lose, or be embarrassed.
Could it be governmental terrorism? The USA, or more correctly its leaders and officials, have committed terrorism against many innocent people... check out the story of Maher Arar - tortured for 10 months, although completely innocent. Or Mamdouh Habib, likewise... or... or... there are thousands!
Comments from Australians in this matter tend to get filtered out of just about everything, but just wait & see what happens if America extradites him.
We will turn on America, and laugh though you may, trust me, you won't like it one bit.
Think the world hates u now??? Wait til you piss Australia off!
Throw another shrimp on the barbie, and then contemplate that both govts., yours and ours, are staunch allies.
This is VERY troubling. Hopefully, this guy will surrounded by monitors to make sure he gets a fair break. It seems to me the sexual charges are contrived and people will do anything for money; then again if he did something he shouldn't have with respect to these women, he deserves his day in court!
Those women are Swedish bar flys. They are not young chaste virgins.
Much more than that. Accuser A, after being supposedly raped by Assange, tweeted in pride about her conquest. Only after meeting Accuser B did she cry rape.
But it gets worse. Accuser A had a blog that explains how a woman can legally exact revenge on a guy who jilts her. She later took her tweets and her blog down, but these were found in the Google cache nonetheless. The two women got their stories straight with each other before going to the police station to "seek advice."
Questions About Alleged Sex Victim from Swedish Journalist http://aol.it/fh01zf
Some information that is not all speculation by readers of this article.
SavroD said: It seems to me the sexual charges are contrived and people will do anything for money
OR ideology.
One of the women charging Assange has close connections to the gusanos in Miami.
Even though the evil empires work in tandem he will not be silenced.
The War on Tyranny has begun, Overcome the Corporate Oligarchy.
All Power to the People and Anonymous!
FFFFFFFFFFFFF!
Protest the Corporate Oligarchy at NooN Saturday 26 at all State Capitals and World Capitals,
End the NEO Gilded Age.
Saturday the 26th?
Green Party is having a rally for Wisconsin at Trenton State House
on Friday the 25th -- noon?
How about getting together?
With a near genius IQ Assange will almost certainly face horrors if he is allowed to fall into the hands of an IQ challenged nation such as the USA. The War on Tyranny will just have to show the same resolve, imagination and courage in the West as in the Middle East. With the anti-globalization movement springing back to life the call is that Life should be the profit motive; co-operation not competition is what made Life on earth possible.
He is being extradited to Sweden, not the USA. The USA has no legal basis for charging him with a crime--that is why Sweden is in the picture.
If Sweden imprisons him for several years, that should be a signal to intelligent persons to avoid travel to that country and to make other choices when purchasing Swedish goods. All actions have consequences--and when Sweden toadies to the United States, Swedish exporters should feel pain. That is all capitalists care about, anyway, profit. No Swedish-made Swedish meatballs for me!
You're kidding, aren't you? Sweden was a willing participant in our "extraordinary renditions." The only question is whether Sweden would "rendition" Assange to the United States, to one of our remaining torture allies in the Middle East, or allow us to do the job on him ourselves in Sweden.
There is no question that Assange would quckly be turned over to the US gulag authority by Sweden.
No more shopping at IKEA either ! You hear ?
what, and buy their cheap mass-produced crap? Sorry, I already don't buy the junk, so I can't boycott it!
I have boycotted diamonds from South Africa during apartheid and now from Lev Leviev, furs of all kinds and many other products, but in a de facto sense, since I could not afford them anyway.
But IKEA, despite the claim it is junk, has made it possible to get some fairly well designed pieces of furniture. As one of my sons says, IKEA has allowed us to reach the level of a dorm room.
I will not be shopping there anymore unless Assange gets justice. I hope that happens before my IKEA furniture falls apart.
jc, it will be a race to the finish line of disintegration. I'm betting on the furnitture, justice seems pretty elusive.
I am certain that many here "boycott" blood diamonds and furs.....less a political action than an economic unreality.
IKEA is incorporated in the Netherlands to avoid paying Swedish taxes. And boy are the swedes pissed about that!
As to the charges against Assange, I must agree that from everything I have read about this thing the charges sound pretty flimsy. Further It seems odd to me that the swedes are extraditing the man for questioning. Why not send an investigating team to GB to interview him?
The Rove/Reinfeltd connection has been foremost in my mind through out the whole affair. The Obama administration always seems to be at great pains to keep Bush and his gang from getting nailed for their crimes and gosh knows Karl Rove was up to his eyeballs in the crap.
There is no evidence the US is seeking to charge Assange with crimes. He is not a US citizen, for one thing, so treason cannot be an issue. You are overreacting (as the author of the article did) by saying Assange could face the death penalty here. On what legal basis could he be executed?
I do not like pandering to people's fears by suggesting scenarios that aren't going to happen. That is what the article is about. It is possible Assange could be charged with the crime of having sex with women in Sweden under circumstances they regard as unlawful. The anger progressives feel should be directed towards Sweden, not the US.
RE: "There is no evidence the US is seeking to charge Assange with crimes."
Oh, really? You are 100% wrong. Here is the proof to prove you wrong:
Read here => http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB10001424052748703313304576132543747598766.html
I followed up on your link and all it said was that the US WANTS to charge Assange with a crime, but there is nothing there that indicates Holder has a case. In fact, the piece implied that conspiracy would be hard to prove. Maybe I said it wrong: the US is trying to charge Assange, but there is little basis on which to charge him. And the claim in the article was that the death penalty is a possibility--and it isn't. The headline and the article are hyped to attract readers, a not uncommon occurrence with journalists.
I'm sorry to have to disagree but the death penalty is a definite possibility as it was for those poor saps who were caught up in the Iraq and Afghan mess and transitioned to Guantanamo where they expired of "natural causes".
The fear exists -- after all, are we still torturing people in America?
Who introduced that? And who is furthering it? It's an intended threat
not only to those who are political -- anti-war, anti-corporate - and
anti-corrruption -- it's a threat to every citizen! And, intended to be so!!
drosera, I think you're right. The conservatives have repeatedly called Assange a "terrorist," which of course is 180 degrees off. If they can't do better than that, Assange's main worry is that criminal charges will prevent him from continuing his work.
That being said, I have no doubt that there are a lot of Assange's out there ready to take up the cudgels -- already doing it, in fact.
I wish somebody would get busy working to remove Obama's peace prize and give it to Assange. That would restore the luster of the prize and, more importantly, actually make a difference in the world, which giving it to Obama did not.
"A British judge ruled Thursday that the 39-year-old Australian can be extradited to face rape and sexual assault claims, dismissing arguments that he would face an unfair trial."
Can he appeal?
Update: From the other article: " The WikiLeaks founder's legal team has said it is already preparing an appeal in anticipation of the judge's decision going against him."
CTRL: Since it's 98% likely that Julian will not be granted a FAIR trial (our military tribunals are a mix between Kafka and a sadist-in-uniform's best fantasy), he should find a way to escape. The Middle East would be the best place to be now... the world is beginning its predicted Transition Phase, and until the old order is tossed aside, a principled person with bravery, integrity, and respect for the Truth will not be tolerated... especially if he has an audience!
He knows it's all a set-up. He needs to pull a "Bin Laden" and get out of Dodge.
The world has to distinguish between supporting someone's political beliefs and activities and requiring that he or she conform his/her conduct to the law. If in fact Mr. Assange has committed rape or other crimes he should be answerable for that.