Sweden slams Ecuador's asylum decision
Published: 16 Aug 12 16:50 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/42664/20120816/
Sweden rejected Ecuador's claim that Julian Assange would not get a fair trial as a basis for granting asylum, and summoned the Ecuadorian ambassador to explain Quito's decision.
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Axelsson confirmed Sweden's stance that the accusations made by the Ecuadorian foreign ministry are serious and that the ministry strongly repudiates them.
Although she said that a meeting between the ministry and the Ecuadorian ambassador had been announced to take place as soon as possible she was unable to disclose whether it had already occurred or was yet to happen.
However, foreign minister Carl Bildt tweeted during Thursday evening:
"We have again informed the Ecuador ambassador about the principles of our independent judicial system. And rejected unfounded allegations."
Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London on June 19th after a British court ruled he could be extradited to Sweden for questioning about allegations of rape and sexual assault.
On Thursday, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Quito decided to grant him asylum as London, Stockholm and Washington refused to guarantee that Assange would not be sent on to the United States where he fears trial for the release of a trove of classified US documents by his whistleblowing website.
The lawyer representing the two Swedish women who filed the original complaints against Assange said he was puzzled by Ecuador's decision.
"I find it very difficult to understand why," lawyer Claes Borgström told AFP.
"He managed to change the focus. He is accused of rape and sexual assault but he managed to get people to talk only about Wikileaks and the United States," the lawyer said.
Claiming that Quito was politically motivated in making its decision, Borgström said: "All this is revolting for my clients who have been considered for two years as conspirators."
The lawyer meanwhile praised Britain's determination to extradite Assange to Sweden, despite Ecuador's decision, while Swedish prosecution said it has no direct impact on its work on the case.
"The fact that Julian Assange was given asylum today changes nothing to the state of the Swedish preliminary investigation," the prosecution said in a statement.
"Assange is in the Ecuador embassy in London, which is on British territory. The case still concerns Britain and the prosecutor therefore cannot unveil any information," it said.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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jag förstår inte... varför inte garantera killen att han inte sänds till USA? varför inte sända polis och förhöra han i England?
Also, swedish law prohibits extradition to a country where the extradited may face the death penalty. The European Convention on Human Rights, of which Sweden is party, also forbids it. So it's all just nonsense. Smoke and mirrors by the cult of Assange, trying to draw attention away from the fact that he's an alleged rapist.
Australia is no better.
No complaints when the USA granted asylum to a chinese dissident and smuggled him into their embassy.
lets hope we see wikileaks reveal the true motivation of the swedish government.
>Sweden cannot make such a guarantee. In its legal system, it's simply not technically possible. Who'd make that decision? The only instance who, in theory, even has the authority to do so is the Supreme Court, and that's the same instance that is prosecuting Assange, so it would be contaminating itself by doing so.
Also, swedish law prohibits extradition to a country where the extradited may face the death penalty. The European Convention on Human Rights, of which Sweden is party, also forbids it. So it's all just nonsense. Smoke and mirrors by the cult of Assange, trying to draw attention away from the fact that he's an alleged rapist.
Thank you. My thoughts exactly.
The lawyer should seek a guaranty that Julian Assange will not be extradited to an American kangaroo court,that should clear the lawyers confusion and no longer will he be puzzled....
So if this is the case why is to so difficult for the Swedish government to sign the document declaring he will not be sent to the US???
And, why is it so difficult for the Swedish government agree to the reasonable compromise that the questioning take place within the Ecuadorian embassy in London???
So, we say we are all one EU in the case of extradition, but not iso in the case of a prosecuter siting down for a questioning session???
Why is that???
I smell a rat.
The UK, Sweden and the EU do not extradite anyone who risk death penalty. The laws explicitly forbids it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/16/julian-assange-asylum-ecuador?cat=commentisfree&type=article
"So if this is the case why is to so difficult for the Swedish government to sign the document declaring he will not be sent to the US???"
It is forbidden in EU, UK and Swedish law. How can a document be better than the law itself? Any lawyer in the EU knows this.
The rape case is handled by a court in Sweden.That is why Mr Assange has to go back to Sweden. This is standard procedure everywhere.
That is a interesting comparison. Thankfully Assange is only paranoid about some time in the distant being persecuted. Maybe, being out on bail in a fancy house like Martha Stewart or Conrad Black was just to harsh on him.
Sweden is so irrelevant here.
Here is a legal explanation of the mishandling of the case by prosecutor Ny as well as the legal opinion there was nothing stopping the Swedish government from interviewing Julian while he was in the UK.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48396086/Assange-Case-Opionion-Sven-Erik-Alhem
@Tiny Keep in mind that Sweden was sanctioned by the UN for deporting an Egyptian seeking political asylum back to Egypt, a country whom at the time was known to use torture. Julian had every right to be paranoid as the Swedish government has done it before and would do it again....also, Sweden never said it would guarantee that he would not be deported the the US...to be tried by a military court and subject to torture as Bradley Manning has.
Why do you keep on forget UK's role in extra-jurisdiction rendition. Could it be that UK is a permanent member of the UN security council.
It is well known that Sweden return a citizen to their country of origin. Wait, Assange is not American.
Manning. His employer suspected that he leaked information to another organization. With the confidentially agreement that employee's sign with their employer leaking information will get them fired and sued by the company.
The rapport ruling was clear extended period in solitary confinement can be consider torture. Wow. All those prisoner in American prisons who are in solitary confinement must be wondering why you are NOT fighting for them.
I wonder where is that censure for Manning's treatment.
Assange is paranoid base on something that has not happened to him, and might never be.
Anyways, Assange will still be arrested and sent to Sweden. Poor Julian, at least he can basking in the glory of getting a meaningless victory.
There is no evidence that Julian Assange is in any danger of any kind. He's not even charged with anything by the United States and no request has been made by the US to Sweden on the matter. And even if that was the case, legally, Sweden cannot extradite Assange to the United States, Swedish law and a European treaty on human rights (that Sweden is bound by) prevents it. Why would an unprecedented (in these circumstances) and, considering the legal situation, superfluous, "guarantee" of non-extradition have made any difference on that front? It was just something that Assanges counsel demanded, knowing full well it would be denied, so that they could wave their arms in theatrical outrage at the supposedly unreasonable Swedish authorities.
The rape charge is bizzare under any case. A different Swedish judge scoffed at the claims and considered the case closed, a radical feminist judge who was superior re-instated the case that Assange "raped" two women who lured him back to their homes to have sex and spend the night. One claim was that halfway througn one of them asked him to pull out but he ejaculated. The other claim was that she woke up in the middle of the night and he had re-entered her.
It is hard to imagine any other country on Earth where these acts would be considered "crimes".
Both women acknowledge that they invited a complete stranger back to their homes for casual sex and to spend the night. That is exactly what they got.
And rape is horrendous crime but I don't know a lot of rapist victims that the day after throws a party for their rapist of send positive tweets about their rapist on social media.
It stinks. The way that it was first closed to be opened (under pressure from your American master I presume) stinks. It stinks very badly.
By national and international law, Sweden cannot extradite a person to a country where the person is at risk of recieveing the death penalty. This is the equivalent of constitutional law. This supercedes the kind of hodgepodge agreement that Assange demanded.
Let me put it this way: if Sweden were to violate these laws, it would be a far worse offense than of they were to violate the kind of agreement you are so hung up on.
The circumstances of the charges is suspect, I agree. But they are legitimate. Julian Assange is not above the law, just because he's the nominal head of wikileaks. I think the odds are good that his charges will be dropped if he'd just take his head out of his ass and cooperate.
The police part of the interrogation team is FB friends with one of the women. She is also a socialdemocrat politician with a political mission in the council in Stockholm.
The list of twists and turns of this story is endless.
And the guy who reported this and a lot of other police corruption got taken to court where he got sentenced by a judge and two nämndemän, one of which was a former police super intendent.
Safe justice in Sweden, you think so?
One of the women listed as having been raped in the night has not even had the statement recorded for her read to her, nor has she counter signed it, afaik.
If anyone thinks this is far fetched, look at what they're doing to Jeffrey Manning, or for that matter how they are treating the men at Guantanamo Bay.
Due process????? HA HA HA HA
...where they then suffered torture?
Egypt doesn't have death penalty?
This trial is an attempt at pretending there are some high democratic standards in the Western world. The matter of the fact is, USA will push around its allies if it wants to. They raided Kim Dotcom's house in New Zealand because big money wanted that to happen. A British citizen will face prison in the USA for sharing files on British soil. Enough money will grant you any wish.
The USA is a country that kills innocent people legally. They do what they want, and they don't want to people to know too much.
Since this appears to be a major factor in Assange's desire to avoid extradition to Sweden, the fact that this article ignores it is, at least, odd.
Does Sweden's native-language media regard this as a serious issue? If so, why isn't it addressed here?
What is a minor, trumped up matter, has been blown out of all proportion into a huge diplomatic incident with no gain for anyone and lots of downsides. Totally disproportionate.
Swedish intransigence and lack of common-sense, along with the British response, suggest what many reasonably hold fears about. There is indeed a hidden agenda!
This matter is not about trumped up charges being brought by a recalcitrant prosecutor. It's now all about Sweden being a further laughing stock in the international arena, as if the previous secret renditions weren't humiliating enough.
Assange case officer 'friend' of accuser: report
If this report in the Local last year is true, for sure Mr. Assange has the right for an entire new investigation from the very beginning on done by new police investigators in Sweden.
Don't be ridiculous. Your argument has much too commonsense for it to be credible here.
For future reference, the recipe for a well regarded post is
(1) Take wild speculation
(2) Heat it up with angry statements about America (using UPPER CASE helps here)
(3) Filter away any facts harmful to your case (eg that EU countries don't extradite if the death penalty is a possibility, that Assange's arguments kept on changing)
(4) Add more speculation and heat up again
(5) Mix with other speculative posts
Hej presto! You're then one of those who really see the world as it is rather than being an American lackey etc. !
Oh Sweden, when you packed off two Egyptians onto a CIA black flight, didn't you realise there would be consequences? You do now!
There will be a lot of skeletons out the Swedish and British closets before it is over,
Who need Wiki leaks when the governments are airing the dirty clothe out by themselves bow.. It will be interesting to follow the politics and respect of international treaties, good test..
Bravo The Local. It seems that some of them, like Uncle, Harris and Rice are on your payroll.
And there are other who love to insult because they have no valid arguments for arguing.
I truly hope Assange can go to Ecuador, regardless of how many Carl Bilds slam Ecuador's decision.
Now, The Local is preparing his best "editors" to delete this comment, because it is against its rules to question Bildt and Sweden.
http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/view.m?id=15&gid=%2Fcommentisfree%2F2012%2Faug%2F16%2Fjulian-assange-asylum-ecuador&cat=commentisfree#.UC2anJLTfEJ.facebook
I do not share his politics
In fact I think he is an a**hole
However I would defend his right to be an a**hole
So, who is this 'Entity' that can make a mockery of the Swedish and British justice systems?
It will be a wonderful thing when the whole story is over and done with. There are far more important things happening in the world than a story of some petty nobody trying to escape justice.
Try expending all your energy on something worthwhile. assange is not in that category.
"As usual so little information and so much speculation. "
Facts mean nothing to those who are blinded by their hate, it's so much easier to make it up as they go.
The sloppiness of Quito was not getting assurances before offering asylum to Assange.
The most important fact is that their is still an outstanding arrest warrant for Julian Assange. So, even if can evade the police in London, Assange is still at risk of being arrested. The problem is compounded by the fact that their are no direct flights.
I would have thought that Assange would have picked a country with a better record on freedom of the press and free speech.
On that note; I would endorse him being granted several more on SVT!
Often a country that wants to extradict someone easily gives the gurantee that the person asked for will not be extradicted to a third country but will either be kept in the country, possibly jailed or asked to leave.
Sweden has a special provision to send somebody detained for other reasons to the US without a long extradicition procedure. In this respect the Swedish and UK legal basis differ and that is the reason why the US is using the detour via Sweden.
There are so many odd things in that case, that the Swedish people should be asking its government why they are behaving that way. They should see Ecuador's reaction as a sign that the Swedish government is behaving maliciously and voiding the good reputation that Sweden once had concerning human rights.
So please do not kill the messanger (Ecuador) but take a look at the facts.
If Swedens laws were worthless in 2001, why then should anybody trust in Swedens legal system in 2012?
What is more important to Sweden? Answers to the questions, or having Assange in a Swedish prison.
If having him in a Swedish prison is more important, then they should spend a great deal of time and effort to have him extradited.
If having answers to the questions is more important, they should spend less time and less money asking him the questions in the UK.
Choose your priorities.
Tiny Red Ant says "I would have thought that Assange would have picked a country with a better record on freedom of the press and free speech."
When asking for asylum, your choices are usually quite limited. Assange is in such a tough spot that getting asylum in Ecuador is an improvement in his situation. Where do you think he should have asked for asylum? Please limit your answers to countries that you might reasonably expect will grant it.
The only reason Assange choose Ecuador was his belief that Correa was sympathetic to his plight.
Assange's desire of getting asylum and it being granted is a farce. That is from Assange's reason and the reasons that Ecuador gave.
If there was a direct reason for Assange getting asylum any European nation, third country, or even North America would grant him one.
It is repeated ad nauseam that Sweden should interview Assange in the place of Assange's choosing. It is as if those people have not read the court ruling, or don't understand that ruling include arguments from the lawyers. The judges were sufficiently convinced that Assange was wanted for prosecution.
Additionally, the arrest warrant was issued for the assistance of UK in the apprehending Assange.
Not to worry I have no questions for you.
"The world's trust into Swedens legal system ended 2001, when Ahmed Agiza and Mohammed Alzery were handed over to the CIA by Anna Lindh"
But luckily regained, after Al Qaida managed to build bases in Sweden, because the spineless government became extremely afraid of sending islamic extremists back to their homes, where dictators knew how to handle them. Even, Osama Bin Laden (may Allah award him with 4 y/o virgins and heads of Jewish children - the ultimate dream of every good muslim) noted Sweden as a country that Al Qaida has a peace with. What an excellent achievement!
Ecuador had no other choice, but to award asylum, otherwise it would be called an american slave (the name of everyone who is not a communist, islamist or polytheist dictatorship). However, given that the official currency of this brave opposer to the "USA hegemony" is an american dollar, 33% of exports of Ecuador is to the Big Satan (the second is Peru - 6%) and Ecuador is in massive debt to IMF (with main contributor - evil US and A), in Assanges place I would be WORRIED!
He will be sold like a slave for 1% interest rates reduction and THIS time he will just disappear, instead of having a loud and visible trial in Sweden.
What a moron!
About time he discovered what it means when he says stop to Ahmed and Karam and they ejaculate in spite of his genuine attempt to pick up the soap!
He is accused of serious sexual assault allegations in Sweden. A man can be a fighter for free information AND a suspected rapist - there is no contradiction in terms.
In order to resume work as the former, he needs to deal with the latter. Unless of course, he is actually guilty and is merely a common criminal seeking to use his notoriety to avoid justice.
My lord, has there been an asylum seeker at anytime in history who has not made their choice for exactly that reason?
Think of all the Africans who choose to pay smugglers a lifetimes ransom and risk shark infested waters to get them to Sweden instead of applying in the country right next door!
It's not that they want their children to learn Swedish, it is that they think the regime in Stockholm will be sympathetic to their claim and they will benefit from that.