Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested today in London over charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault in Sweden.
He said he plans to fight moves to extradite him to Sweden after he was refused bail at a court appearance in London.
During the hearing, high-profile Left wing supporters of Assange - including film director Ken Loach, journalist John Pilger and socialite Jemima Khan - offered up a total of £180,000 in bail, which was refused by the court.
After the court appearance, Assange's lawyer Mark Stephens ( who also has done a lot of work for George Soros' Open Society) said he would be applying again for bail. He said: "I have described this Swedish process as a persecution and not a prosecution."
He also claimed the charges were "politically motivated" and that Wikileaks would continue to publish material: "We are on cable 301 and there are 250,000 secret cables."
So, what are the charges? According to Gemma Lindfield, the representative for the Swedish authorities, Assange has been accused of four counts of sexual assault for actions that occurred in Sweden last August.
Lindfield told the London authorities that the first complainant, Miss A, said she was victim of "unlawful coercion" on the night of August 14 in Stockholm, when Assange is accused of using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner.
The second charge alleges Assange "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex with her without a condom when it was her "express wish" one should be used.That's odd on th eface of it, because if she was being held down against her will, it's rape..and rapists are notorious for not bothering about condoms.
The third charge claims Assange "deliberately molested" Miss A on August 18 "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity". Another rape on a totally separate date? Hmmm...
The fourth charge accuses Assange of having sex with a second woman, Miss W, on August 17 without a condom while she was asleep at her Stockholm home.If true, that's definitely non-consensual sex, although you have to have at least a little sympathy for a a man so inept sexually that he was unable to rouse his partner during the act.
Assange will appear in court again December 14th. Right now, jail is probably the safest place for him.
Oh, it appears the two women have an interesting background as well...
Assange may definitely have picked the wrong places to put his dipstick into, if you get my meaning.
.......... i was half way thru this before i realized ff wasn't talking about monkey boy ..............
ReplyDeletegiven this day, it is somewhat odd that this man would produce for all to see, secrets.
ReplyDeleteit was about this, over sity years ago, someone stated, gentlemen don't read another's mail.
what a difference almost two generations make.
Mr. Assange will have at his disposal the top legal talent in the world as well as a fawning news media. From what I've read about this, his legal team will be able to easily defeat sexual assault charges, rape, or whatever they wish to call it. Also, Sweden or Britian is definitely not going to turn him over to the US on this.
ReplyDeleteThe question is why do the arreast now especially when there is little hope of an actual conviction? I think the reason is the authorities want to make it look like they are being pressured by the Americans. You see Mr. Assange gets to beat sex crime charges and the European authorities be they British, Swedish, or who ever will be able to take "credit" for standing up to the so called "evil", "imperial" Americans.
Its a win/win for all parties concerned and they all get to celebrate their "victory" over the evil Americans. That is its a win/win for everyone execpt America or its government. America's national security not to mention its position as a major world power have been severly damaged, probably irreparably so, by wikileaks.
Of course in Europe this is seen as a good thing. After all, at best, America is a "stratgic competitor" of theirs and, at worst, America is an "evil empire" according to them. As such, any calamity that should befall America will be viewed as a good thing and as cause of celebration by them.