back to article AssangeTM says Sweden squibbed on promised interview

Extreme couch-surfing contender Julian Assange claims “Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny cancelled a prospective appointment to take my statement today.” In March Ny agreed to meet Assange in order to advance Sweden's inquiry into allegations Assange committed sexual offences in Sweden. Such a meeting would need to take place in …

  1. Desidero

    Perhaps she'd heard Assange was into fast hookups - 1 week seems like an eternity in that case.

  2. Mark 85

    Great quote...

    “To behave in such a way seems reckless and it is hard to imagine that it was more than a public relations exercise,” Assange argues. “It is impossible to maintain confidence in this prosecutor under such circumstances.”

    He's a fine one to blast someone for a "public relations exercise" and "impossible to maintain confidence". What the hell has he been doing beside breaking bail which is breaking 'confidence' and hiding out in the embassy mouthing pithy or non-pithy (your choice) statements which is 'public relations'.

    1. Scorchio!!

      Re: Great quote...

      Yes; he fled from Sweden when he discovered, from his legal representative[1], that the Swedish police wanted to interview and then charge him (as per Swedish criminal procedures), and then he fled to the embassy when on bail in the UK. I am more than faintly incredulous when I remember that Assange wanted to become a Swedish citizen and then later claimed they have a banana republic standard of justice. As to fleeing from British justice, given that he has even less chance of being given to the Americans by the UK government I find myself wondering if this man understands what he looks like. As for the judge who gave him bail, only a spanking will suffice; this judge is as bad as the one who let Assange off lightly on 17 counts for a variety of computer crimes in the US and in Australia, committed on Australian soil.

      What has thus far kept Assange out of jail is both the credulity of the judges and his ability to con people with glib drivel that lacks any meaningful anchor to reality. Presumably the British judge who did not keep him in Wandsworth nick (or was it Brixton?) realises that Assange is a flight risk, that his flight from Sweden demonstrated this and that the second instance of flight when on bail doubly demonstrates this. This man has no credibility, and his behaviour does little to assure onlookers that he is innocent of the charges the Swedes wish to bring against him. Far from it.

      [1] On perusal of his mobile phone log, said representative had to concede, in a British court, that the Swedish police had indeed been in contact with him. This whole fairy circus has the whiff of corruption about it.

      1. Graham Marsden
        Meh

        Re: Great quote...

        Oh look, Scorchio!! is back...

        I've just had a look at his posting history:

        Today, 9 days ago, 1 month ago and 4 months ago, virtually all of those posts about Assange.

        I wonder whose sock puppet he is?

        1. James O'Shea

          Re: Great quote...

          "I wonder whose sock puppet he is?"

          Not mine. He doesn't kick the Ass(tm) hard enough.

    2. Mike Moyle

      Re: Great quote...

      "...pithy statements..."

      That's rather a nasty lisp you have there.

  3. Richard Jones 1
    Holmes

    Max Clifford II or Assange?

    Anyone else see the parallels?

    "You can't touch me or I will publicly taunt you with imaginary stories. So let me get on with whatever I want to do."

    Self publicist or what?

    He appears able to spin anything; the embassy must be filling with his tangled thread if not his cloth!

  4. Likkie

    Pot, Kettle, Black!

    “To behave in such a way seems reckless ...” Assange argues

    Oh the irony!!!!

  5. Killing Time

    Just more of the same...

    Again, he tries to take the moral high ground and is full of his own self-importance.

    The Swedish Prosecutor clearly isn’t paying him the respect he deserves…

    What a self-righteous moron.

  6. Schlimnitz

    Help me here, people

    Why should the evaluation take weeks?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Help me here, people

      > Why should the evaluation take weeks?

      Because of Ecuadoran bureaucracy and totally not because in about 6 weeks the statute of limitations runs out on the crime he is accused of.

      1. AnotherBird

        Re: Help me here, people

        Only the lesser crimes are set to expire, if it is not challenged in court.

  7. SolidSquid

    "Assanage argues that he's spent 1,650 days without being formally charged"

    Well yes. They can't actually charge him until he's in custody, so by hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy he's prevented that happening. How is this the fault of the prosecutors?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Assanage argues that he's spent 1,650 days without being formally charged"

      Well yes. They can't actually charge him until he's in custody, so by hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy he's prevented that happening. How is this the fault of the prosecutors?

      Given that quite a few of those days are hiding from the consequences of jumping bail it is indeed rich that he blames other people for that, but then again, he's been blaming others for what is happening to him all the time. In Assange's (not a ™) mind, he clearly can never do any wrong - he appears congenitally incapable of taking responsibility for his own actions.

      1. Desidero

        He's not quite hiding - everyone knows where he is.

        He is protecting himself - not everyone has benign intentions - surprisingly I'm sure not even Uncle Sam.

        However, aside from taking a shit, most things I do these days are planned at least a week in advance. Microsoft and Google have given us digital calendars to handle the heavy lifting, and airlines even reward us by giving us less than extortionary prices by booking a week or more ahead.

        In any case, this standoff has been in place several years, and if there was an agreement in March to finally do an interview and the prosecutor waited until last week to finally ask for a time this week, that's certainly presumptious and incompetent - yes, a diplomatic unit or the country itself might want to prepare good and well to prevent any unfortunate fallout from such a heated and high-profile situation. I'm sure it doesn't affect Assange, but his keepers have their considerations, and Ms. Judge/Jury/&Executioner could at least help them plan the hanging properly (even those are booked ahead of time to fly in extra seats and dignitaries - except for Hussein's of course, but we were in a hurry)

        1. LucreLout

          He is protecting himself - not everyone has benign intentions - surprisingly I'm sure not even Uncle Sam.

          But he isn't protecting himself from Uncle Sam. Literally all he is doing is trying to hide from a rape charge, the success of which will be uncertain for some time.

          When he leaves the couch he WILL be arrested and detained for bail jumping. If America files a request for his extradition during the period of his detention pending trial or in the all but certain jail time awaiting him, then he will be sent to the states.

          There will be few votes for anyone protecting an alleged rapist from deportation. Very few indeed.

          1. BasicChimpTheory

            "But he isn't protecting himself from Uncle Sam. Literally all he is doing is trying to hide from a rape charge, the success of which will be uncertain for some time.

            When he leaves the couch he WILL be arrested and detained for bail jumping. If America files a request for his extradition during the period of his detention pending trial or in the all but certain jail time awaiting him, then he will be sent to the states."

            So he isn't protecting himself from US charges but if he leaves there's a good chance he'll face charges in the US?

            Thanks for straightening that one out.

            1. AnotherBird
              FAIL

              It is not possible to go from "if America files a request" to "there's a good chance he'll face changes in the US." There is a chance he will face changes in the US if America files a request. However, it will have to go through the courts.That is America MUST make a request and it MUST be approved. Two things that have not happened.

            2. LucreLout

              @BasicChimpTheory

              So he isn't protecting himself from US charges but if he leaves there's a good chance he'll face charges in the US? Thanks for straightening that one out.

              Hiding on the couch might time out the sex offences, but it doesn't help him avoid going to the US, unless he intends to stay on the couch until his death.

              He isn't hiding on the couch to avoid extradition to the USA, because had they wanted to extradite him, they would have filed a request before he was granted bail on the extradition to face sex offence charges. They didn't, because they didn't want him.

              He's trying to swap a rape conviction in Sweden for a bail jumping one in Britain, but what he isn't trying to do is escape rendition to the USA. They could have had him if they wanted him, and they will get him should they want him now.

              The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from his actions is that Assange knows he is guilty as charged and that he would be convicted if tried in court. These shennanigans change nothing other than timing out the rape charge - the song and dance about America is just a distraction.

        2. Scorchio!!

          The Swedes have made it abundantly clear they will not release him to the US, while they have also offered first dibs to the US, who have declined. The chances of him being taken from the UK are also very low. This man is setting people against one another, by dint of muddying the water and making false claims.

          Finally, irrespective of what he tells us, Assange's counsel relayed to him the information that the Swedish police intended to interview and then charge him (as per Swedish CJS procedure), and that is why he flew. His counsel claimed that the Swedish police had not been in touch but, on examining his phone record in a UK court, he conceded they had been in touch. For this his bar association announced their intention to interview him. I don't know what the outcome was.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If this were actually about the alledged rape then Sweden would have given the necessary assurances that he would be allowed to choose where he went once he left Sweden. Then there would be no reason for this circus to remain an issue.

    1. Brangdon

      Sweden can't reject a US request for extradition when one hasn't been made. They also can't promise to reject any and all future requests because they can't know what they are. Hence the assurances you mention cannot be given.

      What we can say is that extradition from the UK would need only UK's permission, and extradition from Sweden would require both UK and Sweden's permission, so he's safer there than here. Assange doesn't care, so presumably he's worried about non-legal rendition. In which case, no assurances that Sweden gives matter anyway.

      1. Another User

        For the same reason UK cannot allow or deny Sweden the right to extradite Assange.

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  9. Reinhard Schu

    I still don't get it

    I still don't understand until this day why Assange claims that Sweden would deliver him to the U.S. on a silver plate. Surely, surely it would be much easier for the U.S. to get him extradited from Britain, given the infamous UK-US extradition treaty.

    1. Desidero

      Re: I still don't get it

      I'd guess no one at the top would want to be seen as Obama's poodle, and a minor kerfluffle over the torture of British nationals - http://www.theguardian.com/law/2012/oct/19/torture-uk-britain-blood-government - didn't go so well last time. Whereas Sweden's just one of those free love, unaffiliated socialist states - who could accuse *them* of untoward business?

      1. Awil Onmearse

        Re: I still don't get it

        "Whereas Sweden's just one of those free love, unaffiliated socialist states - who could accuse *them* of untoward business?"

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repatriation_of_Ahmed_Agiza_and_Muhammad_al-Zery

        1. AnotherBird

          Re: I still don't get it ... Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery

          A lot has happened between the treatment of those two individuals and 2010. However, the mistreatment of those two individuals have absolutely nothing to do with Assange's legal situation. How Assange has been treated is also a clear indication that his rights will not be violated.

          1. Awil Onmearse

            Re: I still don't get it ... Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery

            "However, the mistreatment of those two individuals have absolutely nothing to do with Assange's legal situation."

            Apart from showing the Swedish government and Säpo have no problem colluding to break their own laws on extradition, I suppose.

            "How Assange has been treated is also a clear indication that his rights will not be violated."

            You mean the public prosecutor and police colluding by leaking his name immediately to the press from the Police station the complainants were interviewed at - again in contravention of Swedish law?. Right.

            1. AnotherBird

              Re: I still don't get it ... Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery and the leak

              "Apart from showing the Swedish government and Säpo have no problem colluding to break their own laws on extradition, I suppose."

              Those two individuals were never extradited, but deported back to country of birth. There were 50 countries involved in that situation. The did something wrong and owned up to it. Assange has violated his bail condition and has refused to return to Sweden to answer allegations of sexual assault.

              "leaking his name immediately to the press"

              How ironic the person who wants to publish others dirty secrets, but when what he is accused of gets leaks he complains. Wikileaks exists to get leaked information even if "laws were broken."

              All that seems to be is a complaint that one person should not be held accountable for their actions.

  10. LucreLout

    “It is impossible to maintain confidence in this prosecutor under such circumstances.”

    That’s funny Julian, but I have far more confidence in Ny than I do in you.

    Assange argues that he's spent 1,650 days without being formally charged and hoped the interview would expedite matters.

    And whose fault is that?! Return to Sweden and answer the charges. Continue hiding in the embassy and not only does nothing change, but I for one will continue to believe you are guilty.

    Seriously, if you're going to stay on the couch until the day you die, can you please do so quietly.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Seriously, you lot?

    Honestly, it is very difficult to take the majority of these comments seriously. Do the posters going off about bail jumping and whatnot really not understand the real risks to whistleblowers around the globe? Have you really missed, or denied, the many accounts of rendition and retribution over the past many decades? What do you understand about that position, really? The reactions here seem so typically tiresome and unproductive. And I'd rather hoped the authors would have dropped that annoying and long since unfunny "TM" gimmicrky.

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