• Sweden edition

Assange 'still suspected' on lesser charges

Published: 23 Aug 10 15:28 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/28534/20100823/

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange is still suspected of molestation, prosecutors in Stockholm have said. Meanwhile, chief prosecutor Eva Finné has rejected criticism of the original warrant for Assange's arrest.

"This concerns two separate reports from two women," said Karin Rosander, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General's Office.

Finné said she had not yet decided how to proceed.

"I am going to look thoroughly at this and take a view on the question of how to classify the complaints in the coming days. I have not ordered for Assange to be questioned," she said.

The two women making the allegations, believed to be Swedish, approached police separately, one in Stockholm and one in an unnamed Swedish city.

Finné defended the original decision by a duty prosecutor on Friday night to issue an arrest warrant for Assange for suspected rape.

"I made my decision to reverse that decision one day later, when I had a lot more information to work with," she said.

The rape accusations have now been dropped. Finné's office could not on Monday say when a decision would be made about whether to take further action against Assange.

The Australian has been in Sweden to give lectures about Wikileaks' controversial publication of secret documents about the war in Afghanistan. WikiLeaks' servers are hosted in by a company in a Stockholm suburb.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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17:01 August 23, 2010 by eZee.se
This is just the start... wouldnt be surprised if sudden accusations of child porn are thrown in... then later withdrawn... and then references made in future to those accusations of child porn.

Its a dirty dirty dirrrrrrty game once you start playing with or upset the "big boys".
17:54 August 23, 2010 by dwb5555
Why do you assume that this is a trick? Maybe this guy did something. Without knowing the fact I would say it is wrong to say he did nothing, as you are not respecting the possible victums. This guy has already shown to lie before and convicted of other crimes.

So please lets wait and let the police do their job.
18:30 August 23, 2010 by georgek1029
Has anybody seen the copy of the original police report? I have searched the Polis website and not found one. georgek1029@yahoo.com
18:34 August 23, 2010 by GLO
You are known by your works ... Great example of human debris!
19:54 August 23, 2010 by babychuma
Is rape illegal in Sweden?

I would believe he's a victim if he were snatched off the street and flown to Egypt, that's what the "big boys" do. But a false rape allegation? what harm would that do, as long as he's sticking it to the US military, he'd need to do something way worse than rape to be discredited to his international lefty supporters.
20:43 August 23, 2010 by robertweller
If the prosecutor was worried that Assange might flee why release the information to the media. Police normally withhold all information about a suspected rapists precisely to keep them from running away or even worse attacking the victim.
01:53 August 24, 2010 by mojofat
I support the work Assange does with WikiLeaks, however let's examine what we know about this:

- The charges were filed in Sweden by two swedish women.

- The arrest warrant was issued by a swedish prosecutor.

- The alleged crime happened on swedish soil.

- Neither the women or the two prosecutors involved have made any official remarks.

Conspiracy theories are fun and all, but where is the US connection here? Is it not possible that it's a combination of professional incompetence, a woman scorned, and a high-profile target? Or that the charges are partially true even though they are being denied? I also find it implausible that Sweden is so concerned about the US that they would allow a foreign government to step in and mastermind such an operation. Sometimes, a coincidence really is just that.

With that said, this whole event has really made the swedish legal system look third world. Hopefully this is being used as a learning opportunity about what not to do.
02:51 August 24, 2010 by locaxy
Assange's character has been assassinated. No matter where this goes, there will always be a portion of the society who thinks that there's no smoke without fire. The women who made the accusations, meanwhile, are perfectly safe from prosecution. This is not right.
07:02 August 24, 2010 by Veronika Larsson
Does no one else find it rather peculiar that two separate women filed separate complaints in separate cities on the same day?

That's a rather amazing series of coincidences.

None of us have seen any evidence against Mr. Assange, but we do know that a rape charge--a very serious accusation--was made, broadcast around the world, and then dropped with a shrug.

Those who say that a US plot against Assange would be more along the lines of kidnapping him and sending him off to Camp Gitmo or one of the other American-sponsored torture chambers scattered around the globe, are wrong: the Americans don't want to make a martyr of this man, but instead a pariah.

Maybe this is just a case of prosecutorial incompetence, but an incident of this nature coming so soon after Assange's organisation poked a sharp stick in eye of the American Empire calls for a suspicious approach.
10:28 August 24, 2010 by Nomark
Since the two complainants spoke to each other about JA's conduct and agreed to make a joint complaint, its not a surprise that both complaints were received on the same day. There is no "amazing coincidence" in the chain of events surrounding the JA case.

You write that this calls for a "suspicious approach". If there is the slightest bit of evidence suggesting the involvement of external forces then I agree. However, there is not the slightest bit of evidence (and look up the meaning of the word if you're unsure - its not the same thing as group-think internet speculation) . Unless evidence emerges, how about supporting the two women who allege sexual assault ? Or at the very least just keeping quiet ?

Its hard enough as it is for a woman who has been assaulted to be believed. The fear of being called a liar is enough to deter many victims from going to the police. One woman who was allegedly assaulted has already had to close off her blog owing to abusive comments being left there. Shame on those who left such comments.

These women may well be the victim of a sexual assault. Show respect and let the police get on with the investigation. This would also be beneficial in persuading victims of sexual assault to come forward. At present the message seems to be - don't accuse a man with lots of supporters, you'll be mobbed and be called a liar.

If there is evidence that this merely a ploy to discredit JA then by all means vent your spleen. However, wait to see whether such evidence emerges.
12:43 August 24, 2010 by eagleh
This is just a conspiracy of CIA and Swedish authorities as always just follow the oreders from USA. Did he raped people just after distributing the secret pentagon documents?!!!
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