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Julian Assange: Sweden suspends rape investigation

Shiggy

Member
Update:

Speaking on Friday, Sweden's director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said she had ”today decided to discontinue the investigation regarding suspected rape (lesser degree) by Julian Assange".

”At this point, all possibilities to conduct the investigation are exhausted. In order to proceed with the case, Julian Assange would have to be formally notified of the criminal suspicions against him. We cannot expect to receive assistance from Ecuador regarding this. Therefore the investigation is discontinued.

”If he, at a later date, makes himself available, I will be able to decide to resume the investigation immediately."

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/19/swedish-prosecutors-drop-julian-assange-investigation




Sweden's director of public prosecutions has decided to drop the rape investigation into Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

The move comes ahead of a Stockholm court's examination of a demand by Mr Assange's lawyers that Sweden drop his European arrest warrant.

Mr Assange has lived in the Ecuadoran embassy in London since 2012, trying to avoid extradition to Sweden.

He fears if he went to Sweden he could face extradition to the US.

He could face trial in the US over the leaking hundreds of thousands of secret US military and diplomatic documents.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39973864



Assange's immediate Twitter response:
DALcLbwUAAES6jI.jpg
https://twitter.com/JulianAssange/status/865496201839337472
 

Zolo

Member
So is an embassy just a big building or can it be larger? If so, he's just been living in a single building for 5 years now?
 

Leezard

Member
Here's an article in English from what is the largest Swedish news site.

http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/julian-assange-prosecutor-retracts-warrent/

Director of prosecution Marianne Ny and Chief Prosecutor Ingrid Isgren will be holding a press conference later today.

Julian Assange was interrogated at the embassy in London in November 2016. His attorney Per E Samuelson said afterwards that the case against Assange was weakened, and that the arrest warrant should be dropped.

....

This charge was dropped today, Friday.
 

CTLance

Member
I genuinely hope justice was served with this. I wouldn't want a rape case to time out or be discarded just because the constant kerfluffe around it became inconvenient. So, please, for the love of all that is good, someone tell me they found some new facts or proof or reviewed the case extra thoroughly and noticed some inconsistencies or...

Need more info. How did they arrive at the conclusion that the case can be dropped? The linked article is incredibly light on content.

Edit: ah, press conference incoming. Let's wait and see.
 

kiri

Member
So is an embassy just a big building or can it be larger? If so, he's just been living in a single building for 5 years now?

Pretty much just a fairly biggish building in London that had a room converted if I remember rightly so that he can live in it. Can't find the article right now, but heard that he was suffering from various ailments due to being cooped in inside for a number of years.
 

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
So is an embassy just a big building or can it be larger? If so, he's just been living in a single building for 5 years now?

Depends on the Embassy. The USA embassy in Mexico City is a huge complex, while Ecuador's in London is not even the full small building. As to the second part, yes.
 
Sheesh. He just comes across as such a dick on twitter.
If you're trying to share controversial information wouldn't you try to be a little more humble to keep the focus on the leaks and not yourself?
 
Maybe don't post a picture of you smiling like a creepy asshole in response to this. This guy really thinks a lot of himself, doesn't he.
 
Can CIA get a new warrant for the recent software leaks. I feel that's a better reason to go after him than the stupid rape aligation.
 

Zolo

Member
Pretty much just a fairly biggish building in London that had a room converted if I remember rightly so that he can live in it. Can't find the article right now, but heard that he was suffering from various ailments due to being cooped in inside for a number of years.

And this is the person people trust? You don't spend that long cooped up somewhere and not manifest some issues.
 

Rymuth

Member
So is an embassy just a big building or can it be larger? If so, he's just been living in a single building for 5 years now?
Ya.

I remember reading they gave him a tanning bed and some exercise equipment but otherwise, it must be pretty maddening.
 

jorma

is now taking requests
The least surprising legal desicion by a Swedish prosecutor since forever. There was never a case to begin with.

Maybe now at least we'll be spared a torrent of kharvey posts where he pretends to know Swedish law for a while.
 

CTLance

Member
I don't get the outrage over his twitter picture. He just looks happy in that pic. It's Julian Assange laughing because he might be able to get out of his tiny little mousehole after more than five years. It's not even a new picture, if I understand this correctly. All of my shrugs.

(I'm more weirded out by the picture of a rifle behind him. Doesn't look like a pic I'd be putting up in my room. An explosion drawing or more dynamic depiction, ok, but a plain greyscale side view on a white background, on that tiny scale? Odd.)
 
I quite like that he'll still get arrested for skipping bail the moment he steps outside. Adds to how ridiculous his decision to go for the embassy was.
 

norinrad

Member
How does he escape the embassy though? I'm not sure how these things work but I can imagine him being arrested and extradited to the US once he steps outside of the embassy?
 
Who pays for his stay?

People of Ecuador, who got a kick in an opportunity to rub it in the face of American imperialists.

Of course the US get the last laugh, becuase Ecuador basically pay for the cost of putting Assange in a little jail for 5 years. I hope he got enough conjugal visit.
 

Zolo

Member
How does he escape the embassy though? I'm not sure how these things work but I can imagine him being arrested and extradited to the US once he steps outside of the embassy?

That sounds about right actually. This is one charge dropped, but he still seems to be stuck for his charges in the US.
 
I don't get the outrage over his twitter picture. He just looks happy in that pic. It's Julian Assange laughing because he might be able to get out of his tiny little mousehole after more than five years. It's not even a new picture, if I understand this correctly. All of my shrugs.
There were allegations of rape against him. He fled and hid for years to get out of that. Now that investigation his dropped. Instead of cooperating with the investigation, he pulled all kinds of bullshit and is now grinning on a picture about it. And old picture, but still.
 
He was just wanted for questioning in Sweden but never showed up because he was scared they would extradite him to the US. He repeatedly stated that he would show up if he'd get guarantees that they won't extradite him.

A few months ago they questioned him in the embassy and apparently it turned out there wasn't enough to keep the case going.
I don't think Sweden would've dropped the case if there were credible allegations still.
 

Shiggy

Member
A few months ago they questioned him in the embassy and apparently it turned out there wasn't enough to keep the case going.
I don't think Sweden would've dropped the case if there were credible allegations still.

Where did you read this? Investigation is only closed because they see no way to ask questions to Assange or to get him to Sweden for the investigation.


The warrant from Sweden? If they drop the investigation, they will likely drop the warant as well

Warrant is dropped, yes.
 
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