Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is expected to appear in a UK court tomorrow!

[Magda Hassan]

Assange appeal to be heard by Supreme Court

Published: 11 Mar 2015 10:27 GMT+01:00

Sweden's Supreme Court has agreed to hear Julian Assange's appeal to have the European arrest warrant against him lifted, as the Wikileaks founder continues to fight extradition to the Nordic nation following rape and sex assault allegations.

Julian Assange is wanted for questioning in Stockholm following sex allegations made by two different Swedish women in 2010, claims which he denies.

Sweden's Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it would consider the Australian's appeal against the decisions of two lower Swedish courts, which ruled that an arrest warrant against him should stand, paving the way for police to question him in Stockholm.

In a statement it said that it had reached the decision in the light of the "conduct of investigations and the principle of proportionality".

Last month, one of Assange's lawyers, Per Samuelson told The Local that his team's submission focussed on the contention that his freedoms had been unreasonably restricted since he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

He has not left the embassy for two years and according to Samuelson "he has not taken one step outdoors. He has not even leaned out of the window".

Assange, 43, has long argued that extradition to Sweden could lead to him being transferred to the United States to face trial over Wikileaks' publication of classified US military and diplomatic documents. Last week a US court confirmed that a criminal investigation into his activities and those of Wikileaks was ongoing.

http://www.thelocal.se/20150311/assange-...reme-court

[Magda Hassan]

This might be a game changer. Sweden seeking to interview Assange in London.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accepts Sweden's offer to question him in London
Published on Mar 13, 2015 6:12 PM
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Picture taken on Aug 18, 2014, shows WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gesturing during a press conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where Assange has been holed up for two years. Swedish prosecutors have asked for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's approval to question him in London where he is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, the prosecutors said on Friday. -- PHOTO: AFP











STOCKHOLM (Reuters/AFP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will accept an offer by Swedish prosecutors to be questioned in London over rape allegations, his lawyer told AFP on Friday. "We are cooperating with the investigation," Mr Per Samuelsson said. "He will accept," he added, adding that his client welcomed the prosecutors' move, which could lead to a breakthrough in the five-year case.
Swedish prosecutors had asked for Mr Assange's approval to question him over allegations of sexual assault in London, where he is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, the prosecutors said on Friday. The prosecutor is also asking to conduct a DNA test.
The Swedish lawyer also welcomed prosecutors' request on Friday to interview him in London, but said the process could take some time. "We welcome and see it also as a big victory... for Julian Assange that what we have demanded is finally going to happen," Mr Per Samuelson told Reuters..

He said, however, the request was accompanied by a number of formal requirements including that both Britain and Ecuador give their permission for the interview. "That means that could take time, despite the fact that we are in a hurry."
Mr Assange has been stuck inside the South American country's London embassy since June 2012 to avoid a British extradition to Sweden. Sweden wants to question him on allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies. The Australian says he fears that if Britain extradited him to Sweden he would then be extradited to the United States, where he could be tried for one of the largest information leaks in US history.

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/e...m-london-2

[David Guyatt]

That really is a major shift isn't it. I sense Assange is going to be able to be free soon.

[Carsten Wiethoff]

From http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31867829

The lead Swedish prosecutor explained the change of strategy by saying some
potential charges against Mr Assange would expire under the statute of
limitations in August.

"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," Marianne
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."

[Magda Hassan]

That really is a major shift isn't it. I sense Assange is going to be able to be free soon.

Maybe. Sort of. Not really. Even if Sweden drops all legal matters against him there is still a British warrant for his arrest because he didn't show up while he was under UK arrest for the European Arrest Warrant for extradition to Sweden which they might no longer pursue after they go to London instead of making him go to Sweden. If you follow me that is....

From http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31867829

The lead Swedish prosecutor explained the change of strategy by saying some
potential charges against Mr Assange would expire under the statute of
limitations in August.

"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," Marianne
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."

What a gross abuse of the law Sweden has indulged in. They could have done this any time and JA hasn't seen sunshine for 4 years and may as well have been in a prison cell for all that matters. Not to mention the women they are using/abusing over all of this as well.

[David Guyatt]

::face.palm::

[Magda Hassan]

Swedish prosecutors have been accused of "victimising" Julian Assange after it was revealed they had interviewed 44 people in the UK but were refusing to question the WikiLeaks founder in the London embassy where he is living.

Supporters said Mr Assange was being "singled out" after he agreed to be interviewed inside the Ecuador embassy over sex allegations in Sweden - which he denies.

The Australian has been granted political asylum by Ecuador but fears that if he goes to Sweden he will be taken to the United States for questioning about the activities of WikiLeaks.
A Freedom of Information request by the Hazel Press news organisation revealed that Sweden has been granted 44 requests to interview a witness or suspect in the UK since 2010.
Jen Robinson, a member of the Assange legal team, said important questions were now being raised.
She told the Press Association: "First, they refused to take his testimony while he remained in Sweden. Then they refused to hear it in the UK, saying it was illegal to come here. Five years later, after being rebuked by their own courts, they say they'll consider it.
"Now we find out that not only was it standard practice all along, but that 44 other people in the UK were interviewed by Sweden during this same time period.
"Instead of hearing what he had to say, the prosecutor chose to cast a shadow of suspicion over Julian by seeking his extradition. We offered his testimony from London before the arrest warrant was issued, and have continued to offer it since.
"The prosecutor could have - and should have - availed herself of this mechanism to progress the investigation. Denying him this possibility for five years is the original injustice that has enabled many more injustices in his case.
"Julian hasn't been charged, yet he is being punished."
Ms Robinson said the cost of the round-the-clock policing of the embassy in Knightsbridge was now more than £12 million.
"The situation could have been resolved five years ago, exactly as we said it could, by taking Julian's statement in the UK.
"Will the Cameron government spend another £12 million to detain a person who hasn't been charged, simply because Sweden refuses to make use of the mechanisms available to resolve Julian's case?"
Mr Assange has been living inside the embassy for over three years.
A statement by the Ecuador Embassy said: " The Embassy of Ecuador to the United Kingdom clarifies that on no occasion has any representative of the Kingdom of Sweden presented themselves at the embassy in relation to the Assange matter.
"The Republic of Ecuador already made the sovereign decision to grant the journalist Julian Assange asylum on 16 August 2012. At no point has the Republic of Ecuador asked the Kingdom of Sweden to grant Mr Assange asylum."
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told the Press Association: "The Swedish prosecutors are guilty of double standards and victimisation. They've interviewed 44 people in the UK since 2010. Why not Assange? They are making an exception of him. He's being singled out and treated differently.
"It is wrong to deny Assange the option to be interviewed in the UK, which has been extended to others and which he has been offering for five years.
"The Swedish authorities are not applying the law about overseas interviews consistently and fairly. They are acting in an exceptional and discriminatory way towards Assange.
"Julian Assange has been in various forms of detention for five years, without ever having been charged with any offence. This amounts to pre-trial punishment and is a gross abuse of his human rights and the legal system."
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/u...39925.html

[Peter Lemkin]

Two events today. Sweden said they are about to drop some of the charges against Assange. This is a mis-statement and twisting of the truth. These will expired their statue of limitations. However, the most egregious charge of rape remains.

Second, Britain is to make a "formal protest" to Ecuador over its harboring of Julian Assange. Maybe they are tired of paying the enormous costs of police surveillance 24-7-365 [more than 12 000 000 pounds]; but more likely just hoping to pressure Assange into stepping out so they can send him to his death in US hands (for telling truths the USA didn't want told).

Ah, Justice....something no longer afoot in the Western World when it comes to speaking truth to power.
----
Swedish prosecutors reportedly set to drop Assange sex crime charges



Statute of limitations looms in charges against WikiLeaks founder, who is holed up in Ecuadorean Embassy in London

August 12, 2015 1:28PM ET




Swedish officials said Wednesday they were making last-minute attempts to quiz WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over sex crimes allegations despite reports that prosecutors were resigned to dropping the investigation because of the statute of limitations.
Assange, an Australian who escaped a Swedish arrest warrant by taking refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012, is wanted on two allegations of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion, which will fall under the statute of limitations on Aug. 18 unless he is formally charged. A fourth allegation of rape is valid until 2020.
With time running out, the BBC reported that prosecutors in Sweden were preparing to announce Thursday that they were dropping the investigation.

[URL="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/28/swedens-top-court-says-will-hear-assange-appeal-over-arrest-warrant.html"]




Sweden's top court will hear Assange appeal over arrest warrant

WikiLeaks founder has been living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, fearing extradition to Sweden

[/URL]



Assange, 44, has denied the allegations and said he has no intention of going to Sweden for fear of being extradited to the United States because of an ongoing investigation into WikiLeaks' dissemination of hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. documents.
Karin Rosander, a spokeswoman at Sweden's prosecution authority, said that Assange and British authorities have agreed he be questioned in London but that prosecutors have not heard back from Ecuadorean Embassy officials despite attempts to contact them in March and June.
The Ecuadorean Embassy said in a statement Monday that "on no occasion has any representative of the kingdom of Sweden presented themselves at the embassy in relation to the Assange matter." The embassy didn't immediately respond to requests for further comment Wednesday.
"Even though the prosecutor is obliged to drop the [three] cases that will expire ... the rape [allegation] still stands," Rosander said. She did not want to speculate whether the prosecutor would abandon the prosecution.
One of Assange's Swedish defense lawyers, Thomas Olsson, said that if the three cases are dropped, "it will not change anything for Assange," since the arrest warrant remains in force. "I believe the case should have been closed long ago because the evidence is weak."
Justice Ministry spokeswoman Cecilia Riddselius said that Sweden and Ecuador have agreed to start talks on an agreement of mutual legal assistance but that it was unclear if it could open the possibility of questioning Assange at the embassy.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press

[Albert Doyle]

Get him to that great bastion of freedom, transparency of government, and the scared right to dissent, America where he'll be tortured in a CIA torture Gulag.

[Peter Lemkin]

You'd think Seal Team 6 could find a way to get him out to bring him to the 'Promised Land' for some of that good 'ol Americanstylejustice!...they did such a nice job with OBL, after all...this would be a cinch compared to that.

Shame on Australia for abandoning their own citizen. Shame on Sweden for the obvious. Shame on Britain and Shame on the USA who have had an active several-year secret Grand Jury running on Assange. He'd have to stay there five more years to not have any outstanding Swedish charges against him. Sweden certainly doesn't seem to be acting on the 'offer' to interview Assange in London....no doubt with the connivance of Britain and more so the USA. So it goes.... Secret government rules and seeks to plug all leaks of truth - nothing is more dangerous to the Deep Political Class than the plebs knowing the truth of their dirty deeds!