Thread: WikiLeaks: British Police Arrest Assange

Originally Posted by lom

why he during 2-3 months didn't travel back to Sweden

or why the police did not question him while he was still in sweden

Originally Posted by baldrick

Originally Posted by lom

why he during 2-3 months didn't travel back to Sweden

or why the police did not question him while he was still in sweden

He was in Sweden for a few days, for a seminar and also for signing a contract as columnist for the biggest Swedish evening paper.
He left as planned and the rape accusations were filed after.

Originally Posted by lom

He was in Sweden for a few days

or weeks ?

On 20 August 2010, an investigation was opened against Assange and an arrest warrant issued in Sweden in connection with sexual encounters with two women, aged 26 and 31, one in Enköping and the other in Stockholm. The second woman had organized a seminar and news conference in Sweden for Assange, was acting as Assange's spokeswoman, and hosting him as a guest in her home during his stay in Sweden. Shortly after the investigation opened, chief prosecutor Eva Finné overruled the prosecutor on call the night the report was filed, withdrawing the warrant to arrest Assange and saying "I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape." An investigation continued with respect to a possible charge of harassment, as defined by local law. Assange denied the charges, said he had consensual sexual encounters with the two women, and said along with his supporters that they were an attempt at character assassination and smear campaign. He was questioned by police for an hour on 31 August, and on 1 September a senior Swedish prosecutor, Marianne Ny, re-opened the investigation saying new information had come in. The women's lawyer, Claes Borgström, a Swedish politician, had earlier appealed against the decision not to proceed

Julian Assange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia sex offenses

maybe save some outrage for this story

WikiLeaks: Texas Company Helped Pimp Little Boys To Stoned Afghan Cops - Houston News - Hair Balls

WikiLeaks: Texas Company Helped Pimp Little Boys To Stoned Afghan Cops

full text of the cable

US embassy cables: Afghan government asks US to quash 'dancing boys' scandal | World news | guardian.co.uk

Wednesday, 24 June 2009, 11:37
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 001651
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/A, INL, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR WOOD
OSD FOR FLOURNOY
CENTCOM FOR CG CJTF-82, POLAD, JICENT
KABUL FOR COS USFOR-A
EO 12958 DECL: 06/23/2019
TAGS PREL, PGOV, MARR, MASS, AF
SUBJECT: 06/23/09 MEETING, ASSISTANT AMB MUSSOMELI AND MOI
MINISTER ATMAR: KUNDUZ DYNCORP PROBLEM, TRANSPORT FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND OTHER TOPICS
REF: KABUL 1480
Classified By: POLMIL COUNSELOR ROBERT CLARKE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND ( D)
1. (C) SUMMARY: Assistant Ambassador Mussomeli discussed a range of issues with Minister of Interior (MoI) Hanif Atmar on June 23. On the Kunduz Regional Training Center (RTC) DynCorp event of April 11 (reftel), Atmar reiterated his insistence that the U.S. try to quash any news article on the incident or circulation of a video connected with it. He continued to predict that publicity would "endanger lives." He disclosed that he has arrested two Afghan police and nine other Afghans as part of an MoI investigation into Afghans who facilitated this crime of "purchasing a service from a child." He pressed for CSTC-A to be given full control over the police training program, including contractors. Mussomeli counseled that an overreaction by the Afghan goverment (GIRoA) would only increase chances for the greater publicity the MoI is trying to forestall.
2. (C) On armored vehicles and air transport for presidential candidates, Atmar pitched strongly to have the GIRoA decide which candidates were under threat and to retain control of allocation of these assets. He agreed with the principle of a level playing field for candidates but argued that "direct support by foreigners" demonstrated a lack of confidence in GIRoA. If GIRoA failed to be fair, international assets and plans in reserve could be used. On another elections-related issue, Atmar claimed that two Helmand would-be provincial candidates (and key Karzai supporters) disqualified under DIAG rules had actually possessed weapons as part of a GIRoA contract to provide security for contractors.
3. (C) Atmar also was enthusiastic about working out arrangements with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) in RC-South to partner with the Afghan Border Police (ABP) on training and joint operations to extend GIRoA governance south. He is considering giving BG">BG Melham, a highly regarded Afghan officer, responsibility for ABP in Nimruz and Helmand provinces. END SUMMARY.
KUNDUZ RTC DYNCORP UPDATE
4. (C) On June 23, Assistant Ambassador Mussomeli met with MOI Minister Hanif Atmar on a number of issues, beginning with the April 11 Kunduz RTC DynCorp investigation. Amb Mussomeli opened that the incident deeply upset us and we took strong steps in response. An investigation is on-going, disciplinary actions were taken against DynCorp leaders in Afghanistan, we are also aware of proposals for new procedures, such as stationing a military officer at RTCs, that have been introduced for consideration. (Note: Placing military officers to oversee contractor operations at RTCs is not legally possible under the currentDynCorp contract.) Beyond remedial actions taken, we still hope the matter will not be blown out of proportion, an outcome which would not be good for either the U.S. or Afghanistan. A widely-anticipated newspaper article on the Kunduz scandal has not appeared but, if there is too much noise that may prompt the journalist to publish.
5. (C) Atmar said he insisted the journalist be told that publication would endanger lives. His request was that the U.S. quash the article and release of the video. Amb Mussomeli responded that going to the journalist would give her the sense that there is a more terrible story to report. Atmar then disclosed the arrest of two Afghan National Police (ANP) and nine other Afghans (including RTC language assistants) as part of an MoI investigation into Afghan "facilitators" of the event. The crime he was pursuing was "purchasing a service from a child," which in Afghanistan is illegal under both Sharia law and the civil code, and against the ANP Code of Conduct for police officers who might be involved. He said he would use the civil code and that, in this case, the institution of the ANP will be protected, but he worried about the image of foreign mentors. Atmar said that President Karzai had told him that his (Atmar's) "prestige" was in play in management of the Kunduz DynCorp matter and another recent event in which Blackwater contractors mistakenly killed several Afghan citizens. The President had asked him "Where is the justice?"
6. (C) Atmar said there was a larger issue to consider. He
KABUL 00001651 002 OF 003
understood that within DynCorp there were many "wonderful" people working hard, and he was keen to see proper action taken to protect them; but, these contractor companies do not have many friends. He was aware that many questions about them go to SRAP Holbrooke and, in Afghanistan, there is increasing public skepticism about contractors. On the other hand, the conduct of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A) is disciplined. Looking at these facts, he said, he wanted CSTC-A in charge. He wanted the ANP to become a model security institution just like the Afghan National Army (ANA) and National Directorate for Security (NDS), and the contractors were not producing what was desired. He suggested that the U.S. establish and independent commission to review the mentor situation, an idea he said Ambassador Eikenberry had first raised. Atmar added that he also wanted tighter control over Afghan employees. He was convinced that the Kunduz incident, and other events where mentors had obtained drugs, could not have happened without Afghan participation.
ARMORED VEHICLES (AND AIR TRANSPORT) FOR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
7. (C) Atmar expressed strong opinions about the use of armored vehicles for travel by presidential candidates that he has requested be provided to MoI by the U.S. and UK. He said it was up to MoI to decide whether a candidate was under threat or not. Atmar opined that it should be an MoD responsibility to provide air transport for presidential candidates. Amb Mussomeli explained that we want a level playing field, which Atmar agreed was necessary. However, Atmar said there were two important considerations: 1) some of the electorate will view that the candidates are controlled by foreigners if provided non-GIRoA transport; and 2) bypassing the MoI or MoD with "direct support by foreigners" demonstrated a lack of confidence in the Afghanistan government. When Amb Mussomeli said MOD lacked adequate aircraft to cover all candidates, Atmar responded that MoD could ask ISAF for help but should retain control of the travel. Amb Mussomeli pointed out that some reasonably worried that such a plan will falter or will not be fairly implemented. Atmar answered "Just give us a chance. If we fail, then you have your own planes and plans in reserve."
DIAG-DISQUALIFIED CANDIDATES IN HELMAND
8. (C) In a discussion on two would-be provincial election candidates in Helmand who were disqualified by the Disbandment of Illegally Armed Groups (DIAG) program, Atmar said he had looked into requests to stand firm against their reinstatement, but it was a "big, contentious issue that is not explainable to President Karzai." Atmar said that the only reason these two candidates were barred was for having weapons, apparently against DIAG rules. In fact, he said, they were "contracted by the state" to have those weapons in order to provide security for contractors. He acknowledged that the "contract" had not been properly registered, and suggested that the GIRoA would take care of the registration.
AFGHAN BORDER POLICE (ABP) AND PARTNERING WITH THE MARINES IN RC-SOUTH
9. (C) Atmar enthusiastically proposed an MOI meeting with the leadership of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) and CSTC-A to work out arrangements for good partnering, training, and joint operations with Afghan security forces in RC-South. The MEB would like two ABP companies (approximately 250 police) currently located near Lashkar Gah to move south, and to be mobile enough to move further south when opportunities arise. The MEB would like a customs officer to be attached to these ABP companies so that the reach of GIRoA governance can be extended when insurgent-controlled or dominated territory is opened. Atmar stopped short of making a final promise to give a highly-regarded Afghan officer, BG">BG Melham (whom he personally respects), responsibility for the ABP in Nimruz and Helmand provinces, but he was aware of concerns about the current responsible officer (BG">BG Noorzai).
KABUL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (ISK)
10. (U) Amb Mussomeli expressed concern over a plan by a District Police Chief to remove security barriers at ISK (an primary and secondary school partially dependent on USAID and other Mission funding support) that keep the road closed to
KABUL 00001651 003 OF 003
normal traffic. Removing the barriers could endanger the kids and teachers who walk between two compounds. Atmar said that he was very familiar with ISK and "no barriers would be touched," although he added that perhaps an arrangement could be made to unblock the road and have the ISK security personnel search vehicles.
EIKENBERRY

Originally Posted by baldrick

and said along with his supporters that they were an attempt at character assassination and smear campaign.

So all his supporters were present during the sex?
I think this is a confusion from Assanges side, he is used to play by Aussie rules where you don't have to ask the sheep before you shag it.

Originally Posted by lom

he is used to play by Aussie rules where you don't have to ask the sheep before you shag it

that would be the kiwis - kangaroos are much more vigorous in their dissent

Brits Limit Assange Internet Access in Segregated Cell
Mary Papenfuss
Dec 10, 2010

He can't stand daytime TV at prison

(Newser) – WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange is being transferred to a segregation unit at Britain's Victorian Wandsworth prison, where his Internet access will be restricted, reports the Guardian. He's "quite chipper" and seems to be "bearing up," said attorney Mark Stephens. Assange, who's wearing standard-issue gray track-suit prison duds, complained about the prison's daytime TV, adding that now he "doesn't have access to a computer, even without an Internet connection, or to writing material," said Stephens.

Prison authorities are arranging to provide Assange with a computer so he can work on his case, but it will have limited Internet access. His lawyers were refused permission to bring him his laptop. There were indications Assange requested a segregated cell because of the high level of inmate interest in him. Fellow prisoners appear to be largely supportive of Assange, said his attorney. He's being held on a Swedish warrant on suspicion of two sex assaults. His lawyers fear US officials will try instead to extradite Assange to face espionage charges not yet filed. Assange's attorneys will argue for bail next week.

newser.com

This could become a real watershed moment in history.

WikiLeaks 'rape' victims had hidden agendas, I've seen the proof: Assange's lawyer

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s lawyer says he has seen secret police documents that prove the whistleblower is innocent of rape claims made against him by two women in Stockholm.

Björn Hurtig, who is representing Mr Assange in Sweden, said the papers, which form part of the official Swedish investigation, reveal both women had ‘hidden agendas’ and lied about being coerced into having sex with Mr Assange, 39.

The freedom of information crusader is being held in Wandsworth jail in London while fighting extradition to face the accusations, which his defenders say are part of a plot to stop him releasing more embarrassing information on his website about governments worldwide.

Australian Mr Assange met both women at a seminar in Stockholm last August. After having intercourse with each, at different times, he faced sex charges – which he strenuously denies – that were withdrawn and then reinstated.

Mr Hurtig said in an exclusive interview from his Stockholm office: ‘From what I have read, it is clear that the women are lying and that they had an agenda when they went to the police, which had nothing to do with a crime having taken place.

‘It was, I believe, more about jealousy and disappointment on their part. I can prove that at least one of them had very big expectations for something to happen with Julian.’

He has asked for Swedish prosecutors’ permission to disclose more ‘sensational’ information.

‘If I am able to reveal what I know, everyone will realise this is all a charade,’ he said. ‘If I could tell the British courts, I suspect it would make extradition a moot point.

‘But at the moment I’m bound by the rules of the Swedish legal system, which say that the information can only be used as evidence in this country. For me to do otherwise would lead to me being disbarred.’

Mr Hurtig, a top sex-crime defence lawyer, is ready to fly to London and present the evidence when Mr. Assange appears in court this week – if he is given the all-clear.

nation.com.pk

The validity of Swedish case is basically irrelevant. The intent of the whole exercise is to keep Assange in custody, then extradited to Sweden and keep him in custody there until he can be then extradited on to USA.

Originally Posted by Panda

The intent of the whole exercise is to keep Assange in custody, then extradited to Sweden and keep him in custody there until he can be then extradited on to USA.

A bit of historical study of US-Swedish relations would have told you how unlikely that is but don't let your ignorance to do so stop your conspiracy theory.

Originally Posted by lom

Originally Posted by Panda

The intent of the whole exercise is to keep Assange in custody, then extradited to Sweden and keep him in custody there until he can be then extradited on to USA.

A bit of historical study of US-Swedish relations would have told you how unlikely that is but don't let your ignorance to do so stop your conspiracy theory.

The Swedish case for Assanges extradition and detention there is based on the complaint of two Swedish women in accordance with Swedish law. Those are the facts.

Do try not to let your imagination run away with you and read too much into it there mate.

It is a little perplexing that two women are involved here.
Possibly a need to negate the " her word against mine" argument ?

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Sweden's government is in the same position as most European governments, mine included, desperately gumming US cock.

There is one country in Europe that has special relations to the US and which has its mouth full of Uncles cock the others are only aiming for the drips that falls to the ground.
May I remind you about Germany's and Sweden's harsh critic of the Iraq war and their refusal to join the coalition of the willing?

Do you honestly believe that Assange would be safer in Britain than in Sweden in case the US asks for his extradition?
There is no logic in that at all.

Originally Posted by lom

There is one country in Europe that has special relations to the US and which has its mouth full of Uncles cock the others are only aiming for the drips that falls to the ground. May I remind you about Germany's and Sweden's harsh critic of the Iraq war and their refusal to join the coalition of the willing?

You can remind me but, again, the wikileaks cables show the Swedish government were lying about that one, they gave plenty of support without actually committing to troops. Assuming you've actually read the cables why do you think the US described sweden as "a covert member of Nato"?

Originally Posted by lom

Do you honestly believe that Assange would be safer in Britain than in Sweden in case the US asks for his extradition? There is no logic in that at all.

No, I don't think it's likely, if the US want him from Britain they can get him, I don't doubt that. Just wanted to point out that Sweden is no different from the other "neutral" European countries. In reality all European governments are the US's bitches.

Assange due in court in London over sex-crime case
DAVID STRINGER
Associated Press Writer Rohan Sulivan in Sydney contributed to this report.


Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, some wearing masks depicting him and holding placards participate at a demonstration outside the Swedish Embassy In central London, Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. Assange remains in a U.K. jail ahead…

LONDON (AP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was scheduled to appear in a London court Tuesday seeking to fight his extradition to Sweden in a sex-crimes investigation and trying to secure bail after being held for a week in a British prison cell.

The 39-year-old Australian was ordered held in custody by a judge at a hearing a week ago after surrendering himself to Scotland Yard to answer a Swedish arrest warrant.

Assange is wanted for questioning after two women accused him of sexual misconduct in separate encounters in Sweden over the summer. Lawyers for Assange say he denies the allegations and will contest the attempt to extradite him for questioning.

Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, said his client would offer to be electronically tagged and stay at an address known to the police.
"One's never going to count one's chickens until they're hatched, but I hope that in these circumstances the district judge will feel confident" granting bail, Stephens told Sky News.

He will be represented in court by Geoffrey Robertson, a former appeals judge at the U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone who has specializes in freedom of speech cases. Robertson's former clients include author Salman Rushdie.

Supporters were planning to protest Assange's detention outside the court, following a small rally on Monday outside Sweden's embassy in London.
Some of Assange's supporters suspect the extradition request has been motivated by WikiLeaks' decision last month to begin publishing its trove of about 250,000 secret U.S. diplomatic cables, something Swedish officials have denied.

Assange remained defiant in comments from prison relayed Tuesday by his mother. Australia's Seven network said Christine Assange spoke to her son by phone for 10 minutes and asked him, at the network's request, whether it had been worth it.

"My convictions are unfaltering," the network quoted Julian Assange as saying. "I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. This circumstance shall not shake them. If anything, this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct."

The disclosures, which have continued unaffected since Assange was detained in prison, have offended some U.S. allies and angered its rivals. Officials in Washington claim some other countries have already curtailed their dealings with the U.S. government as a result.

At an hour-long court hearing last week, lawyer Gemma Lindfield - acting for Swedish police - said Assange is accused of rape, molestation and unlawful coercion.

She told the court one woman had accused Assange of pinning her down and refusing to use a condom during an encounter on Aug. 14 in Stockholm. That woman also accused of Assange of molesting her in a way "designed to violate her sexual integrity" several days later.

A second woman has accused Assange of having sex with her without a condom while he was a guest at her Stockholm home and she was asleep.
In Sweden, a person who has sex with an unconscious, drunk or sleeping person can be convicted of rape and sentenced to up to six years in prison.
Assange's Swedish lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, claims the courts are stacked against defendants in sex cases in Sweden.

However, a 2009 European Commission-funded study found only 10 percent of sex offenses reported in Sweden result in a conviction.

Lawyers for Assange said they will make a new application Tuesday to have him freed on bail, and will offer to post a hefty bond with the court. Several high-profile Britons - including socialite Jemima Khan and filmmaker Ken Loach - have offered to contribute 20,000 pounds ($31,500) each.

A decision on whether to extradite Assange is expected to take several weeks. Both Assange and the Swedish government are entitled to appeal against the ruling if the judge rules against them.

Britain's government said Monday that the country's national security adviser believes government websites could be attacked in retribution if Assange is not released.

Government departments have been told they could be targeted by online "hacktivists," following attacks on companies including MasterCard Inc., Visa Inc. and PayPal Inc., which cut ties to the WikiLeaks site.

In his statement, Assange called those companies "instruments of U.S. foreign policy."

"I am calling on the world to protect my work and my people from these illegal and immoral attacks," he was quoted as saying.

wcpo.com

http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/mic...ge/s2/a541987/

Michael Moore joins list of media figures offering bail surety for Julian Assange

Posted: 14 December 2010 By: Laura Oliver


Filmmaker Michael Moore said today he had wired money to the Magistrates Court ahead of Assange's bail hearing. Photo: Nicolas Genin on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Film and documentary maker Michael Moore has joined the list of media figures offering support to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ahead of his second bail application today.

Moore, who is best know for directing and producing the films Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, has offered $20,000 surety for Assange, who was arrested last week over allegations of sexually assaulting two women in Sweden.

On Wednesday Assange was refused bail by the judge at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court and has been remanded in custody until today's hearing, where he will make a renewed application for bail.

WikiLeaks' is part way through the release of more than 250,000 diplomatic cables sent from US embassies across the world, which have been published by the website and via partner media organisations, including the Guardian.


The filmmaker says he will also give "the assistance of my website, my servers, my domain names and anything else I can do to keep WikiLeaks alive and thriving". Speaking in a blog post on his website, Moore is critical of attacks from US politicians on WikiLeaks and Assange, such as senator Joe Lieberman's claims that the site has violated the US Espionage Act.

"I will not allow this injustice to continue unchallenged," he writes.

At his first bail hearing last week journalist John Pilger and film director Ken Loach were amongst those promising sureties for the whistleblowing website's editor.

In a witness statement to Westminster Magistrates Court, Moore says he supports Assange as "a pioneer of free speech, transparent government and the digital revolution in journalism".

"In September 2008, I released my first free movie on the Internet, Slacker Uprising, documenting my personal crusade to encourage more Americans to vote in presidential elections. These experiences underpinned my conviction that it is the duty of a free press to probe, and hold government and the powerful to account - and that citizens must be properly informed and have access to information in order to exercise their democratic rights," he says in the statement.

"Governments have always been discomfited by a probing press. With the hollowing out of newsrooms, in large part as a consequence of the new digital world, old media have largely abandoned the territory of investigative journalism.

"...It dishonours this court to be used in this way, holding this man without bail. Julian has made the world, and my country in particular, a safer place. His actions with WikiLeaks have put on notice those who would take us to war based on lies that any future attempts to do so will be met by the fierce bright light provided by WikiLeaks and intended to expose those who commit their war crimes. His actions will make them think twice next time - and for that we all owe him a debt of gratitude."

Moore says in the statement that absconding and breaking terms of any bail granted would harm Assange's reputation in the media and journalism industries and suggests the WikiLeaks founder would not risk this.

Moore adds that he will not be able to attend today's hearing, which is scheduled for 2pm according to Westminster Magistrates Court, but has wired money to the court.

Did he or didn't he? The murky politics of sex and consent
Guy Rundle
December 12, 2010


Assange supporters at the US Consulate General in Hong Kong.
Photo: AP

IT WAS 2pm in central Westminster Magistrates Court No. 6, a modern chamber, done in blond wood, looking curiously Scandinavian in style, and the world's press were so focused on celebrities such as John Pilger and Jemima Khan crowded behind the defence desk, that few noticed Julian Assange slip into the room. Neatly dressed, more solid than he appears on screen, his white hair neatly clipped, he took his seat behind the semi-circular glass screen.

He stood again to answer the clerk's first question: ''Are you Julian Paul Assange?''

''That is correct,'' he said.


Australians rally in support of Assange in Sydney.
Photo: AFP

Assange would have to be other than human not to be wondering how it had come to this. Having just begun the release of 250,000 diplomatic cables, the group's editor-in-chief nevertheless remained free of any criminal charge relating to them. Instead he was here, fighting extradition to Sweden, where he had once hoped to base WikiLeaks, accused of rape and sexual misconduct by two women he had met in the August holidays.

The facts of the case have become known by now. Assange had undertaken a speaking tour of Sweden, partly organised by a left Christian activist, Anna Ardin, an officer with the Social Democratic Party's ''Brotherhood'' faction.

Also attending was 26-year-old Sofia Wilen, who became an unofficial photographer of sorts.

Assange was staying with Ardin, then he was with Wilen, and then later in the week he went back to a crayfish party at Ardin's place, pausing only to text Wilen. Ardin later threw him out, and at the end of the week, the two women - who did not know each other - had compared notes and gone to Klara police station in Stockholm to inquire about forcing Assange to take an STI test. In the hands of the police, that became a rape and misconduct allegation, dropped and then reinstated within a week.

In court, the nature of those allegations was finally made clear. The Crown Prosecution Service presented the four Swedish Prosecution Service accusations: two were of a specific Swedish crime called ''ofredande'', or misconduct (misleadingly translated as molestation), one being that the defendant ''pushed his erect penis against the complainant's back, thus violating her sexual integrity'', the other for unsafe sex ''against the complainant's explicitly stated wish''. There is one charge of sexual assault, which alleges that Assange had sex with Wilen while she was asleep, and the most serious charge is that he held Ardin down with his body weight, forced her legs open, and had sex with her.

The last accusation would qualify as a reasonable rape charge anywhere, the ''morning glory'' almost nowhere; the other two depend on the detailed nature of the accusation, none of which has seen the light of day - the unsafe sex charge for example, does not allege non-consent, simply an earlier expression of opposition to the practice. Even with later consent, this can still count as a crime in Sweden.

By now, the whole story of the encounters - whose non-consensual nature Assange fiercely denies - was circulating around the world, throwing many people, especially those inspired by the WikiLeaks project, into confusion.

For 40 years, since the rise of second-wave feminism, it has been an article of progressive faith that a range of older habits of thought concerning rape should be junked. The character and history of the victim, behaviour after the event, the nature of the alleged attacker - all these were to be separated from an assessment of whether a crime had taken place. The social-psychological impossibility of fully lowering this curtain has always been lurking. In this case it has come to the fore.

Overwhelmingly this focused on Ardin, who became passionately interested in WikiLeaks, arranging several lectures for Assange and accommodation at her place. On August 10 she tweeted excitedly that her Christian activist group had invited Assange to Sweden and ''han kommer!'' - he will come.

The next week, at that crayfish party, she tweeted, ''I'm with the coolest most exciting people in the world.''

That tweet, occurring three days after the alleged rape, would later be deleted from her Twitter feed, though it persisted in the Google cache, and was recirculated. People I spoke to at Uppsala University, where I studied in 2007, and where Ardin was at one time the student union gender equality officer, largely knew her second-hand, describing her as well-known for extreme, mildly obsessive enthusiasms. None of that would mean anything, but Ardin had also annoyed many people by posting on her blog a seven-step guide to revenge on ex-lovers, which advocated ''the big lie'', and getting the law involved. Gender equality officer at Uppsala University is to Sweden what holding the Norm Smith Medal is to Melburnians: it's not something you traduce. The revenge guide also disappeared from her blog, and was retrieved from the Google cache.

Further difficulties are created by the interview that Ardin gave to Aftonbladet daily three days after the police were first contacted. Here she said, ''It is quite wrong that we were afraid of him. He is not violent and I do not feel threatened by him … [The] responsibility for what happened to me and the other girl lies with a man who has a twisted attitude to women and a problem with taking 'no' for an answer.''

Which still alleges sexual assault, but appears to contradict the outlining of the most serious rape charge. Rightly or wrongly, most prosecutors wouldn't proceed, as Stockholm prosecutor Eva Finne decided not to do - although she let accusations of ''ofredande'' stand.

But Sweden has an internally entrepreneurial public service culture, and Marianne Ny, a prosecutor attached to a special crime development unit in Gothenburg, on the other side of Sweden, took the case. She had been persuaded to by Claes Borgstrom, a member, like Ardin, of the Social Democratic Party - indeed, an ex-government minister, and gender equality ombudsman.

Ny proceeded with the case, the courts permitted Assange to come to London to work on the ''cablegate'' release, and Ny and Assange's lawyers differ over who made it impossible for an interview to take place, such that a European arrest warrant was finally issued.

By the time that came around, the scepticism directed at Ardin and Wilen was no longer confined to the masculinist world of hacking. The event was provoking a full-scale debate within feminism. Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, wrote a satirical piece asking Interpol to arrest every jerk boyfriend she'd ever had, and Naomi Klein remarked that rape accusations were being used in the same way as women's rights were used to power the Afghan war, while the Swedish group Women Against Rape questioned why this case was getting such fast-track attention.

That contradiction was brought to the fore by the suspicion that a right-wing Swedish government, desirous of ending its decades-long neutrality policy, was using the case to detain Assange long enough for extradition to be served. The timing of the warrants - matching key moments in the ''cablegate'' releases, and the involvement of heavy hitters such as Borgstrom in the mix - suggest to many that the women's inquiries, which were never made as charges, have been taken over. Borgstrom told reporters asking about this that the women ''aren't jurists. They don't know what rape is.''

Given that Ardin has written a gender equality manual that is still on the Uppsala University website, one has some doubts. Is it possible that the women are being strong-armed into continuing the case? Ardin's recent tweets include expressions of support for WikiLeaks in its battles with PayPal etc, suggesting she's no Hedda Gabler. But they also have a reference to Bjasta, a town that celebrated a boy who'd raped two local girls who were then shunned.

Wilen has disappeared from sight completely. And conspiracy theories flourish on the wilder shores of the Baltic. Did Ardin charge a student with sexual discrimination for ''not looking at me'' while she was giving a lecture? Should we pay attention to her background among right-wing Cuban exiles, her stint in Washington, DC, the military side of her family, her cousin Mattias being a very senior liaison officer between NATO and Swedish forces in Afghanistan?

What of Assange? If we don't assess him as any less likely to force sex, by virtue of his leftish politics, do we have the right to go the other way and ponder the deep strain of masculism that runs through his blog/manifesto IQ.ORG - where he effectively dismisses the possibility of women being capable of performing the sort of maths necessary for WikiLeaks-level hacking? We don't know. We're still holding our breath, waiting to see what is said in that faux Scandinavian court next week, while day by day the remorseless drip of cables changes the state, the public and information in the 21st century.

watoday.com.au

'Assange's accusers are WikiLeaks fans'
Dec 25, 2010

STOCKHOLM - THE two Swedish women accusing Julian Assange of sex crimes are supporters of WikiLeaks, not pawns of the CIA, and they simply seek justice for a violation of their 'sexual integrity', their lawyer says.

Claes Borgstrom, a self-professed feminist who used to be Sweden's ombudsman for gender equality, told The Associated Press he finds it 'very upsetting' that Assange, his lawyers and some supporters are suggesting the case is a smear campaign against WikiLeaks, the secret-spilling website Assange founded.

'He's been spreading false rumours that he knows are untrue. It's reckless against these two women,' Ms Borgstrom said by phone Thursday. 'They, too, are supporters of WikiLeaks. They support its work.' Assange denies the allegations of sexual misconduct, which his lawyers say stem from a dispute over 'consensual but unprotected sex.' He has not been charged.

The lawyer said Assange had every right to reject the women's sex claims but says Assange is, in essence, accusing them of breaking the law by suggesting they are driven by ulterior motives.

'There is no truth to this whatsoever,' he added.

British newspaper The Times recently quoted Assange as saying there is 'very suggestive evidence' the two women were motivated by revenge, money and police pressure. When the investigation started after the August incidents, Assange said he had been warned about 'dirty tricks' from the Pentagon, though he later said he wasn't pointing fingers at anyone.

straitstimes.com

So, 2 women invite him to stay with them sleeping in the same bed and then get the arse when they realise that they weren't his exclusive partner for the few days he was in Sweden?

Fuck them - stupid bitches.