That Western governments preferably want WikiLeaks crushed is indisputable. Former US soldier Bradley Manning languished in solitary confinement for 11 months on suspicion of passing classified documents to WikiLeaks, leading to the UN’s special rapporteur on torture to accuse the US government of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. A US grand jury is currently examining evidence that might link Assange to Manning, though it is yet to report. Fears that Assange could end up extradited to the US ”“ and what might happen to him there ”“ are not without foundation.
But that does not mean Assange should be immune from very serious allegations in Sweden. Two women have both accused Assange of rape, and there have been repeated attempts by some of his supporters to discredit them. There have been suggestions that they are part of some kind of CIA honeytrap. The campaigning journalist John Pilger has described them as “concocted charges”. But Assange’s own lawyer, Ben Emmerson, does not dispute the sincerity of the accusers, arguing in court: “Nothing I say should be taken as denigrating the complainant, the genuineness of their feelings of regret, to trivialise their experience or to challenge whether they felt Assange’s conduct was disrespectful, discourteous, disturbing or even pushing at the boundaries of what they felt comfortable with.”
But what has been particularly disturbing is the attempt by some supporters of Assange to claim that the allegations do not constitute rape….
There is nothing commendable about Manning and Assange’s alleged leaking of US military secrets, and if they’re found guilty of having done that, then they should face the bar of justice in the United States, but we need to remember that in this country, they are innocent until proven guilty. As for Sweden’s laws, I’m sure the same applies there relating to Assange’s alleged raping of a woman, and he should not receive immunity from prosecution.
These charges would be laughed out of court in the U.S. You have two different Swedish women who, on less than a few hours acquaintance, jumped into bed with the “famous” Assange. Afterwards they partied, went to meals together, exchanged fond farewells, etc. Then they found out about each other, were SHOCKED that he could “use” them in this way, went to visit a prosecutor, and found out that, yes, in Sweden, you can charge a man with rape for such things as — you’re asleep in bed after drinking and sex, he wakes up and wants more sex, proceeds to have it while you mumble sleepily “did you put on a condom?” Next day, all is sweetness and light. Days later you decide you were “raped.” No matter how much conservatives hate Assange, they should not condone this absurdity.
That said, when you are hated by a lot of powerful people, you are crazy to have sex with random women on a regular basis. This may be one of the more extreme possible results, but there are certainly many others that could be thought of. If he supposedly lives in terror that he is going to be extradited to the U.S. where he faces “the death penalty” he might want to consider the case of Mordechai Vanunu in the future.
Will he get the attention he craves in Ecuador, or will he turn his welcome into a circus?
One would think his followers would question why Assange continually needs to live above law, but such is the nature of cults of personality. I think the modern coinage is “sheeples.” Baaaaa.
Is Owen Jones planning to be as aggressive, urging the deportation of Roman Polanski ? After all, Polanski fled to France in order to avoid jail time regarding his rape of a 13 year old.
If not, then I am not interested in his sudden defense of women.
The “mainstreet media” gets more useless every day.