Julian Assange has never been charged with any offence. His detention has been unlawful since his very first arrest in the United Kingdom in 2010. There has never been any genuine attempt by the Swedish authorities to investigate the allegations against him. Those are the findings of the United Nations.
The UK and Swedish governments both participated fully, and at great expense to their taxpayers, in this UN process which is a mechanism that both recognise. States including Iran, Burma and Russia have released prisoners following determination by this UN panel, which consists not of politicians or diplomats but of some of the world’s most respected lawyers, who are not representing their national governments.
Countries who have ignored rulings by this UN panel are rare. No democracy has ever done so. Recent examples are Egypt and Uzbekistan. The UK is putting itself in pretty company.
It would be an act of extraordinary dereliction by the UK and Swedish governments to accept the authority of the tribunal, participate fully in the process, and then refuse to accept the outcome.
It is worth noting that the UN judgement vindicates precisely the arguments advanced by Assange’s lawyers before the UK supreme court, that there was no genuine judicial process in train against Assange in Sweden. I cannot express this better than John Pilger:
The Assange case has never been primarily about allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden – where the Stockholm Chief Prosecutor, Eva Finne, dismissed the case, saying, “I don’t believe there is any reason to suspect that he has committed rape”, and one of the women involved accused the police of fabricating evidence and “railroading” her, protesting she “did not want to accuse JA of anything” – and a second prosecutor mysteriously re-opened the case after political intervention, then stalled it.
The British mainstream media has never fairly reported the ludicrous nature of the allegations against Assange. The establishment is very keen that the public do not know. It is worth noting that the only notice this blog has ever received from Google, that an article has been removed from search results, referred to the article in which I detailed and demolished the allegations against Assange. The UK mainstream media today are reporting with astonishment the UN decision and still refuse to report the details of the allegations against him, or the fact that they were dismissed by Sweden’s most senior prosecutor before being taken up (as Swedish law permits) by an openly politically motivated prosecutor from another region.
It is absolutely normal procedure, all around the world, for regime opponents to be charged with trumped up criminal charges rather than with political dissent. And not just in China or Russia. They tried it on me when I blew the whistle on torture and extraordinary rendition, with eighteen formal allegations against me, several of them criminal. Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, the most senior woman in the US Army, testified that Donald Rumsfeld personally approved the torture techniques used at Abu Ghraib and the very next day she was “caught shoplifting”. Scott Ritter, US Marine officer and WMD inspector in Iraq, was convicted of engaging, just after going public on absence of WMD, in online paedophile activity. We don’t know for certain what they did to David Kelly.
Anybody who believes the neo-con countries do not persecute dissidents is naïve in the extreme. The indignation at the UN calling them on it is both hilarious and chilling.
Admin,
Can you send me a copy of the google letter?
[Mods – in progress Craig]
@Tony I have replied to your brilliant comment above re *11.
Sadly it has been effectively censored by being deleted here but I have copied it to here https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2010/01/the_911_post/comment-page-24/#comment-576834
Assange news conference just starting (12pm).
View LIVE via Frontline Club YouTube channel.
Or live link via Reuters:
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Reuters_Live_Video/mobile&Theme=39
Among the many secrets that wikileaks outed, is there not a document about google and US state departments links and cooperation?
Also has noone read the article in one of the oligarch owned rags that Youtube (google) was now in a postilion for the SIS to block any particular clip from getting viewed or to block a range of IPs from accessing any particular package?
Has no one noticed that certain clips cannot be accessed in UK due to “copyright” violations? (it says so on the screen)
The censorship is all around you and it seems there is still an expectation, a need for further corroborations and validations that the current plutocracy in practice is a “democracy”, or putting it in reverse, that our current “democracy” is not a plutocracy!
The pathetic farticle in the telegraph was; “this UN committee acquits 99% of the referrals to it”, this is kind of everyone is passing the O levels and A levels so there should be something wrong with the system, it is far too easy to pass the exams. Hence the committee is obviously a bunch of “liberal pink lolo communist bleeding hearts” and ought not be paid any attention to!!!!! This of course is an attempt to play down the lawful and legal verdict of the committee that is binding in law.
BTW does anyone know of the unlock code for the originally leaked files?
No big surprise here, these fascists who run the west have never cared for international law, when it conflicts with their immoral interests.
Assange, is being used as an example of what happens to those in the limelight who challenge the establishment.
These jackbooters love to rub our faces in their corruption, they make Blair middle east ‘peace envoy’, they put Saudi at the head of a UN ‘human rights’ panel.
It’s a deliberate policy, they want their shameless evil in plain view, they want to make millions of us feel powerless, to fear them, to give up and turn away from the political processes.
Their arrogance will undoubtedly be their undoing, as millions now have nothing but seething contempt for this dying establishment, as we turn away from their mass media propaganda outlets, and cease to vote the way we are expected to do.
Expect harsh ‘punishment’, (probably economic) from them when we vote to leave the EU.
“Only a cretin could fail to see that the Assange case is a stitch up from start to finish.”
Unfortunately there are a few. You expect Tory ministers […] to rebel against the decision, but the truth is this. The highest court in the world has reached a decision. Sweden and the UK, despite all its noise from the foreign minister, will have to comply. You can see now that those of us who have been arguing that the persecution of Julian Assange by the UK and Swedish governments, was politically motivated. The last legal judgment has been reached. The UK and Sweden were invited to appeal through the UN court. They did not.
They did not appeal because they did not have a leg to stand on legally. Today the same international lawyers who advised the UK not to appeal because they would lose, are now going to have to convince the politically-motivated Cameron and Hammond that they have lost and must abide by international law. There will be a conflict because the UK and Swedish puppet-masters in the US want to serve a supreme-court injunction on Julian Assange. The lawyers will advise Cameron et al to comply with the UN court. However, remember that Tony Blair went ahead with his murderous pursuit of Iraqi oil, illegally against UN legality. This shower in power today are no better than Blair.
I’m watching it on RT, much better sound quality. The ambassadors comments are quiet revealing, this will have reverberations.
The whole Assange affair is most defiantly a ‘Psychological Operation’
They did a very similar thing to a nice chap by the name of Gary McKinnon.
In the end they will release Assange, just as they did Gary, but the underlying cost cannot be missed by anyone, the cost is the years their victims spend in limbo, that is what they charge their enemies, something that can never be given back..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon
Psychological Operations
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PSYOP), have been known by many other names or terms, including MISO, Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and propaganda.[1] The term is used “to denote any action which is practiced mainly by psychological methods with the aim of evoking a planned psychological reaction in other people.”[2] Various techniques are used, and are aimed at influencing a target audience’s value system, belief system, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior. It is used to induce confessions or reinforce attitudes and behaviors favorable to the originator’s objectives, and are sometimes combined with black operations or false flag tactics. It is also used to destroy the morale of enemies through tactics that aim to depress troops psychological states.[3][4] Target audiences can be governments, organizations, groups, and individuals, and is not just limited to soldiers. Civilians of foreign territories can also be targeted by technology and media so as to cause an effect in the government of their country.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_warfare
100% agreed Fredi. PSYOPS also use media fakery to (electrically) shock the target audience, traumatizing the public so much that they cannot see the obvious bullshit they are being sold.
The UN decision has achieved nothing as it is non-binding, and Foreign Secretary Hammond has dismissed it as “ridiculous”, adding the Assange is a fugitive from justice.
Our rogue states can do what they want, as Dr. David Kelly was murdered by the resident Mossad kidon in the UK, and it got up a kangaroo court to dismiss it as suicide.
And if Assange walks out of thee Embassy, he can expect something similar to happen to him.
I was interested in Assange long before there was any controversy. In fact the biggest controversy was between him, and one of the founders of Crpytome he worked with which pre-dates wikileaks. Assange was travelling all over the place going to what were largely technical meetings such as TED. These were open meetings that anyone could go to including the press, and many of them were photographed and videod.
I followed the events in Sweden very closely. Not only was there no allegation of rape, one of the girls involved drove him to her home, and invited him into her bed, brought him breakfast the next morning, boasted on Twitter that she had just slept with Julian Assange, and then went back with him to the meeting the next day, and tried to organise a BBQ for him the following night. O.K. – he then slept with her friend – which might have pissed her off a bit – but still neither of these girls made any allegation of rape whatsoever. Yes he had sex with them – but it was entirely consensual.
All this was extremely well documented – first of all in a Swedish Newspaper (the equivalent of the Sun), and on the internet – including all the Tweets.
The allegations of rape – didn’t come until a considerable time later – and they were not from either of the girls involved. You cannot delete historical evidence – that is all over the internet – even if it is in Swedish.
When the allegation was made – the Swedish prosecutor rejected it as ridiculous. The evidence was perfectly clear to absolutely anyone interested. It couldn’t possibly have been any more clearly documented.
Assange was still in Sweden at this time, when any case against him was completely dismissed. He then went back to London. The Americans obviously got involved and twisted arms both in Sweden and in London.
Assange may be guilty of being a naughty boy – but most single blokes invited into pretty single girls’ beds would do exactly the same. Hands up anyone not guilty of that?
O.K., the Priests, the non-sexually interested and anyone gay is excused.
Assange is not only innocent of any criminal charge, he is also very brave.
I can’t say the same for The Swedish, or British Authorities. They are beyond contempt. What exactly have the Americans got on them?? It must be blackmail….so what have they done?
Tony
Assange is not only innocent of any criminal charge, he is also very brave.
Well, he isn’t that brave, otherwise he’d simply come out and agree to be interviewed. If he’s that innocent, surely he has nothing to fear. (And in any case less to fear in Sweden than in the UK.)
This is what we received from Google:
Notice of removal from Google Search
September 10, 2015
Hello,
Due to a request under data protection law in Europe, we are no longer able to show one or more pages from your site in our search results in response to some search queries for names or other personal identifiers. Only results on European versions of Google are affected. No action is required from you.
These pages have not been blocked entirely from our search results, and will continue to appear for queries other than those specified by individuals in the European data protection law requests we have honored. Unfortunately, due to individual privacy concerns, we are not able to disclose which queries have been affected.
Please note that in many cases, the affected queries do not relate to the name of any person mentioned prominently on the page. For example, in some cases, the name may appear only in a comment section.
If you believe Google should be aware of additional information regarding this content that might result in a reversal or other change to this removal action, you can use our form athttps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/eu-privacy-webmaster. Please note that we can’t guarantee responses to submissions to that form.
The following URLs have been affected by this action:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/09/why-i-am-convinced-that-anna-ardin-is-a-liar/
Regards,
The Google Team
Martinned
05/02/2016 2:04pm
Assange’s concern has never been the sexual allegations. What he (rightly, in my opinion) fears is that Sweden will extradite him to the United States, where he may face the death penalty.
He has consistently requested a guarantee from Swedish authorities that he will not be extradited and has expressed his willingness to “come out and be interviewed” in that circumstance. He has never received such an assurance.
Kind regards,
John
If you search for the Ardin article on Google UK it does currently appear but at the bottom of the results page it says ”
Some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe. ”
It appears Google unblocked the page at some point.
Curiously the page was still blocked on Google Sweden as recently as a week or so ago when I tried it. As of right now google.se is also returning the page.
Any news from outside the Ecuadorian Embassy?
Anyone present, please post an update if you can.
He has consistently requested a guarantee from Swedish authorities that he will not be extradited and has expressed his willingness to “come out and be interviewed” in that circumstance. He has never received such an assurance.
You mean other than the rule in art. 28(4) of the EAW framework decision which says that:
“a person who has been surrendered pursuant to a European arrest warrant shall not be extradited to a third State without the consent of the competent authority of the Member State which surrendered the person. Such consent shall be given in accordance with the Conventions by which that Member State is bound, as well as with its domestic law.”
(Meaning, for the non-lawyers, that if Sweden tried to extradite Assange to the US, they would need permission from the UK authorities, and Assange would be able to litigate that decision both in Sweden and in the UK.)
Martinned,
I struggle to see your point. If the Tory UK government wished to defend Assange, then they could, agreed. And your point is?
Martinned
05/02/16 2:38pm
The rule you cite is irrelevant to the question of whether or not Sweden will give a guarantee that it will not set in motion the legal machinery to extradite to the United States.
Kind regards,
John
I take it the resoundingly logical and sensible dissenting opinion will be widely ignored here?
“arbitrarily detained” 😆
I’ve heard it all now.
“The UK mainstream media today are reporting with astonishment the UN decision and still refuse to report the details of the allegations against him, or the fact that they were dismissed by Sweden’s most senior prosecutor.”
______________________
That particular sentence only reinforces what some folk in the UK, already know about the mainstream media.
As for Westminster, well it’s an open secret that they’re pushing the “prosecute Assange” agenda, on behalf of their US doyens.
John Spencer-Davis
5 Feb, 2016 – 2:48 pm
But it is relevant to the question whether he will ever be extradited without guarantees about no death penalty (Soering), no inhuman or degrading treatment (ditto), fair trial (Othman), etc. Beyond that, I’m not sure why you think Assange is entitled to a general guarantee that he won’t be extradited. There is simply no guarantee that he has any right to, other than the guarantees that he already has and that he can enforce via art. 28(4) EAW.
@Craig:
My original point was that this working group opinion is bizarre. Or, in the words of The Guardian (!) “simply wrong” and “a publicity stunt”. As they conclude: “WikiLeaks was founded on exposing those who ignored the rule of law. Surely its editor-in-chief should recognise his duty to see it upheld.”
Subsequently, I noticed someone describe Mr. Assange as “brave”, which strikes me as the opposite of the most apt description of someone who flees justice and hides away in a foreign embassy for three years.
CE, 2:53 pm; yes, arbitrarily detained. Suggest you read the following, which sets out the similarities to other cases:
https://justice4assange.com/IMG/pdf/assange-wgad.pdf
Craig, I see your comment on the Guardian article has been deleted.
Craig, I see your comment on the Guardian article has been deleted.
Quelle surprise.
Phil Hammond will challenge the EU’s decision over Assange, Hammond continued with “Assange is a fugitive from justice.”
It beginning to look like the minute Julian Assange steps foot outside the Ecuadorian embassy, he’ll be arrested by British authorities, regardless of the EU decision.
It begs the question does Westminster believe that its ruling is above EU rulings? or are they being compelled by the US to arrest Mr Assange?
“Politics is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex.” Frank Zappa.
Martinned, the action against Assange is misuse of law. Only one accusation remains against him, and the woman concerned has stated that she wanted no such action taken! It is entirely the action of states, no element of public interest involved. Assange has been sheltering from concerted state persecution.
It was a Guardian author who published the critical password. The Guardian has done nothing since to dispel the myth that Wikileaks “published unredacted”. The Guardian has been at the heart of smearing Assange and Wikileaks.