Julian Assange - WikiLeaks (39 page)

As of November 22, 2010, on behalf of his client, Hurtig appealed the decision and demanded that the arrest warrant be cancelled. The Swedish Court of Appeal was informed of this decision. Monday afternoon the Court of Appeal demanded the advice of the prosecutor.

Ny refused to cooperate with Julian's Swedish lawyer Hurtig, who tried several times to make his client available for interrogation while he was still in Sweden. Ny refused Julian's proposal to answer her questions by phone or any other means of proper communication during his stay in England.

• On Wednesday, November 24, 2010, the Court of Appeal confirmed the decision to detain Assange.

The decision of the Swedish Court of Appeal concerning Assange's detention means that he's still being searched for abroad.

The Court of Appeal reviewed the appeal and decided that Assange should remain in custody on suspicion of rape, sexual assault in two cases, and coercion. The missing person notice and international arrest warrant will be modified accordingly.

For the sake of the investigation and the parties involved, the prosecutor was unable to provide details of the suspected crimes or investigative measures taken so far.

• Evolution of the situation at the end of November 2010

On Sunday, November 28, 2010, the first American diplomatic cables were revealed, first through the five media of the alliance and then broadcasted around the world.

On Tuesday, November 30, 2010, Interpol launched a red notice for Julian Assange, based on the Swedish arrest warrant. This meant arresting the person no matter where they were in the world, in view of their extradition.

The website of Interpol states:

“An Interpol red notice is not an international arrest warrant. These Interpol ‘Red Notices' represent only a tiny fraction of the number of red notices issued by Interpol. The persons concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or the International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol's role is to assist the
national police forces in identifying or locating those persons with a view to their arrest and extradition. These red notices allow the warrant to be circulated worldwide with the request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition. The person should be considered innocent until proven guilty.”

Hurtig judged that “other motives, linked to WikiLeaks, are behind this decision.” Meanwhile Mark Stephens said:

“The honey trap has been sprung... After what we've seen so far you can reasonably conclude this is part of a greater plan.”

The lawyer qualified the allegations against Julian as ‘dark forces at work.' Assange continued to insist on the fact that he hadn't done anything inappropriate and had consensual sex with both women.

British journalist Nick Davies also had an opinion on the subject:

“
The Guardian
understands that the recent Swedish decision to apply for an international arrest warrant followed a decision by Assange to leave Sweden in late September and not return for a scheduled meeting when he was due to be interviewed by the prosecutor. Assange's supporters have denied this, but Assange himself told friends in London that he was supposed to return to Stockholm for a police interview during the week beginning October 11, and that he had decided to stay away. Prosecution documents seen by
The Guardian
record that he was due to be interviewed on October 14, 2010.”

• European arrest warrant issued for Assange on Thursday, December 2 2010

Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny confirmed today that a European arrest warrant was issued for Julian Assange.
She cannot currently provide additional information on this matter, with regard to confidentiality.

The Supreme Court has decided not to grant leave to Julian Assange to appeal. Additional information will be sent to the British police.

Julian Assange has been subjected to an arrest warrant in his absence for rape, sexual assault and coercion. Assange has appealed this decision at the Court of Appeal.

For the Supreme Court to grant leave for an appeal, it needs authorization. It may be granted if the case is expected to have significant impact on law enforcement, or if there are other important reasons.

The arrest warrant is based on the decision to arrest, which has now been validated by the three instances. The additional information required by the British police concern the charges linked to the other offences besides rape for which Julian Assange is being prosecuted. The information required will be provided as quickly as possible. The previous arrest warrants remain in effect.

Julian Assange was then one of the most wanted men in the world. At that time, he was in the south of England. “When you get that many death threats, it's better to be discrete,” Kristinn Hrafnsson, spokesperson of WikiLeaks, admitted. According to the Icelander, Julian was not trying to flee Swedish prosecution, but feared his own safety.

• Progress report on the European arrest warrant, Monday, December 6, 2010

Marianne Ny submitted the additional information requested by the British police. The case is being
handled by the competent judicial authorities according to European regulatory framework. For now the Chief Prosecutor will not provide any additional information concerning the execution of the arrest warrant.

• Statement of Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny on Tuesday, December 7, 2010

On December 7 2010 in front of a British court, Gemma Lindfield, representative of the Swedish authorities, detailed the four charges against Julian Assange, which are ‘coercion' and ‘sexual assault' of Ms. Ardin on the night of August 14, 2010, first by firmly holding her arms, then by forcing her to have unprotected sex. Julian Assange was also accused of the ‘voluntary aggression' of Ms. Ardin. Finally, on August 17 2010 he was accused of having ‘abusively exploited' the fact that Ms. Wilén was sleeping in order to have unprotected sex with her.

Lindfield added that bail should be refused to Assange because of his ‘nomadic ways,' the contacts he has around the
world and the money at his disposal thanks to his many donors, but also because has already refused to take a DNA test or provide his fingerprints. Lindfield also pointed out that this would help ensure the protection of the accused, should unstable people try to seriously harm him.

On December 7, 2010, Julian Assange was behind bars. He voluntarily gave himself up to the authorities in the morning and was heard at 2 p.m. in front of a Westminster court, which was swarming with journalists.

After having highlighted ‘the extreme gravity of the accusations' made against him, Judge Howard Riddle refused his request for release on bail, as the accused had ‘the means and ability to flee.' Julian Assange was detained awaiting a new court appearance on December 14, 2010.

In the mean time, the WikiLeaks organization faced problems from all sides: cyber attacks, domains closings and banking bans. However, Julian said he took all the necessary precautions to guarantee continuing the leaks regardless of what were to happen to him.

James Ball, a British journalist collaborating with WikiLeaks said: “Everything is planned, all this will continue as ever.”

That night Julian slept in a cell. He's looking at four years in prison.

Published on December 20, 2010 by
sophox
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Julian got out of prison this Thursday evening, December 16, 2010. He was incarcerated on December 7, in Great Britain following a European arrest warrant issued by Swedish authorities. He's being prosecuted for rape, sexual assault and constraint, and could be extradited to Sweden over the next few weeks. Assange has always denied these accusations, claiming there's a smear campaign against him since WikiLeaks revealed thousands of confidential, diplomatic American documents. “I don't like to see the word ‘rape' next to my name. I have never had a sexual relationship with a woman without her consent,” he affirms strongly. He still risks four years in prison for ‘minor rape.'

“It's great to feel the fresh air of London again,” Julian said about his forced stay in “solitary confinement at the bottom of a Victorian prison.”

He got out of prison after posting 240,000 pounds (USD 390,000) on bail, collected by friends and sympathizers. It wasn't easy to find that kind of money, which is why his release was delayed by at least two days. That meant dishing out 390,000 dollars, with 200,000 that had to be paid in cash. Many celebrities like British filmmaker and left-wing English figure, Ken Loach helped him out. Some of the other bail providers were the lovely Jemima Khan, ex-wife of Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan, ambassador for UNICEF and fortunate aristocrat close to Lady Diana, and American documentary maker Michael Moore.

“It's a considerable amount and what is sad, is that he can't use Visa or MasterCard to help collect these funds,” lawyer Mark Stephens said jokingly. He alludes here to the fact that both American credit card companies have blocked money transfers to the WikiLeaks site.

Julian therefore came out of prison ‘believing in the British justice system.' “I hope to continue my work,” said the founder of WikiLeaks on the steps of the building of the High Court, after nine days of detention. He wants to prove his innocence, and that's why he gave himself up to the police on December 7, 2010.

In the mean time, after a prison cell, it's time for ‘mansion arrest.' Julian is staying at Ellingham Hall, a manor two hours away from London, in Norfolk.

Vaughan Smith, the owner of London's Frontline Club for journalists, is playing host to Julian in his ancestral manor, located in a wooded area, at the side of a lake. His host, former officer turned war correspondent, did say that that he had a good Internet connection.

It's a gilded cage, really, because his parole has strict instructions to be followed: electronic tag, curfew and reporting
to a police station every day. He has to show up every day between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Beccles police station. In the county of Suffolk, Beccles is a small town located a few hundred yards from the coast of the North Sea, about fifteen minutes from Ellingham Hall.

Julian cannot give interviews at his residence, as his lawyer forbids it. He also cannot talk about the case, as only his legal representatives are now allowed to do so. However, he can be approached in his small black car when he goes to the Beccles police station.

“He is settling down in the house,” said Vaughan Smith. “He works, I don't spend my time looking over his shoulder, I am his host, not his jailer,” added the estate owner.

For Mr. Smith, the innocence of his guest is not in question. He believes in his fight. “He initiated developments that will change our world. There is an opportunity for governments to change. We would have a better world as a result,” he explained.

Julian has settled in the residence with a few friends, including WikiLeaks spokesperson, Kristinn Hrafnsson.

Although his passport was taken away, he remains available to the Swedish authorities, as he believes that this entire matter is simply and purely something the Americans cooked up.

A French intelligence expert came up with this hypothesis: “The Swedish are trying to set him up. They want to break him and make an example of him so he'll stop making noise in the media in the future.” It's true that he'll have less time to provoke Western governments if he has to fight with lawyers to ensure his defense.

In the beginning, there were two young Swedes, Anna Ardin and Sofia Wilén.

What Julian did wrong: refused to use condoms when they had sexual relations. That was mid-August of last year, during a seminar in Stockholm, Sweden. They are Julian's main accusers.

What troubles me is that they waited several days to go to the police, which in fact fueled the wildest online rumors. From the very beginning, he's always claimed that the two Swedes were recruited to trap him. I even read that one of the two plaintiffs has a cousin posted in Afghanistan. Or maybe they're in it for the money, unless they want to get revenge on a man who deceived them, or better yet, men in general, as Anna is apparently a fundamentalist-feminist.

Last we heard Anna left Stockholm to go to the West Bank in the Palestinian Territories, as part of a Christian outreach group. She's no longer cooperating with prosecutors or even her lawyer. We've read everything on these two girls, all on the Internet.