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Great Britain High Court Okays Assange Extradition

By Jeralyn, Section Court Decisions
Posted on Wed May 30, 2012 at 12:52:24 PM EST
Tags: wikileaks, Julian Assange (all tags)
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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has lost his appeal on extradition to Sweden. The British Supreme Court says he can be extradited to face charges there.

In a 5-2 vote, the British Supreme Court upheld the validity of an arrest warrant made by a Swedish prosecutor to question Assange over accusations by two Swedish women that he sexually assaulted them.

The ruling is here. The Court's press summary is here [More...]

His lawyers have been granted 14 days to seek reconsideration. They will argue that:

[T]he majority of the Court appear to have based their decision on the interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, on which no argument was heard.

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    Great Britain High Court Okays Assange Extradition | 15 comments (15 topical)

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    Holy Stuff (none / 0) (#1)
    by Slayersrezo on Wed May 30, 2012 at 01:02:36 PM EST
    Well, now I guess we will see if the Swedes hand him over to us. The Swedish government is widely considered to be our servant in quite a few ways.

    If we get him there's at least a chance they'll give him the death penalty.

    As for Sweden?
    Well, the trial process there is unfair, so it's quite possible he'll be convicted and tried at "show trial" (though honestly even if he was innocent as the sunny sky as I said the Swedish courts don't have all our courts due process protections) and go to  Swedish prison for a few years.

    That actually isn't a bad fate and if it stopped there it would probably be the most that both of his "victims" would want (my understanding is that at least one of them no longer even wants him prosecuted and I am 100 percent certain that neither of them wants him in prison for decades, let alone killed no matter how guilty he may be), but I think the whole goal of this was to get him to the USA.

    I'm sorry to be a bit of conspiracy theorist in this case :(

    According to one report, (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Makarov on Wed May 30, 2012 at 04:15:35 PM EST
    and assuming reconsideration by UK's supreme court fails, Assange still has the ability to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

    It's not over, yet.

    Parent

    Thanks for reminding me of that (none / 0) (#7)
    by Slayersrezo on Wed May 30, 2012 at 05:57:51 PM EST
    It just seems that the process so far has been inevitable. I'm willing to bet lots of strings are being pulled. By the way, does he have a "right" to have his appeal considered or will it be up to the European Court to decline or accept it?

    Parent
    Also, (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Makarov on Wed May 30, 2012 at 04:24:32 PM EST
    it's just a guess of mine, but if Assange is rendered or extradited to the US from Sweden, it could easily end Fredrik Reinfeldt's government by the next election.

    The Moderate Party leading 'Alliance for Sweden' is already a minority government. I can think of nothing better to re-invigorate the Social Democrats than the current government handing Assange over to US authorities.

    Parent

    Now that (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by Zorba on Wed May 30, 2012 at 04:45:12 PM EST
    is an interesting speculation.  We have a couple of old friends in Sweden, and they are Social Democrats and not particularly happy with the Moderate Party.  I'll have to email them as this develops, and see what they think.

    Parent
    I'd be very (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Makarov on Wed May 30, 2012 at 05:56:47 PM EST
    curious to hear what they say. I don't know much about the internal politics of Sweden, but do know that the Moderates came to power in 2006, and barely held on in 2010 (due to the 4 Alliance parties sticking together and the opposition not being unified).

    Just a guess on my part, but I can't imagine the majority of citizens of Sweden being in favor of handing anyone over to the US. From what I know, Europeans are much more educated about US rendition and torture policies than citizens here.

    Parent

    your last sentence (none / 0) (#11)
    by TeresaInPa on Wed May 30, 2012 at 11:44:34 PM EST
    interesting, but do you have any proof of that? do you have stats or studies?  Or is that just one of those things people believe that isn't really true?

    Parent
    No proof (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by Makarov on Thu May 31, 2012 at 12:02:10 AM EST
    All I have is the assumption that Europeans don't hold as positive a view of the conduct of the 'war on terror' as Americans do.

    Maybe I'm wrong and they still hold up the USA as the beacon of democracy and freedom with our CIA black sites, Cuba-level infant mortality rate, and 1929 income inequality.

    Parent

    come on bud (none / 0) (#13)
    by TeresaInPa on Thu May 31, 2012 at 12:12:01 AM EST
    they all have their faults too.  No country is immune.  I had a brother in law from France back in the late 80s.  He could tell some pretty humiliating stories about France and Paris in particular. Just to name one, he admitted to their afinity for American jeans and willingness to pay hundreds of dollars to americans for their smelly old ripped ones.
    Don't buy the "everything is better in Europe myth".

    Parent
    Pretty sure that's not what he said (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by sj on Thu May 31, 2012 at 11:00:36 AM EST
    Don't buy the "everything is better in Europe myth".

    What he said was:
    Europeans are much more educated about US rendition and torture policies than citizens here.
    emphasis mine.

    CNN International and other news broadcasting stations aren't dumbing down on those issues like they are here.  I'm pretty sure that there are a number of commenters on this very site who made that or similar observations.  

    I'm frankly bewildered as to the relevance to that point of American jeans.  Smelly or otherwise.

    Parent

    From (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by lentinel on Wed May 30, 2012 at 05:00:31 PM EST
    Bradley Manning, to Assange to the Pope's "butler" - it seems that the ones who reveal the slime that is going on are the ones who wind up in the can - and the perpetrators become the prosecutors.

    Parent
    cart ahead of the horse (none / 0) (#8)
    by diogenes on Wed May 30, 2012 at 06:34:54 PM EST
    Assange is being extradited to Sweden to answer questions based on sexual assault charges made by two women.  Findings of fact cannot be addressed in a British court.
    He can appeal the outcome of the Swedish court (whether of a trial or a hypothesized extradition to the US) to the European Court of Justice.
    High powered politicians are famous for bending the sexual rules (Kennedys, Berlusconi, Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Dominique Strauss-Kahn), so why can't people even imagine that these charges could at least be deserving of investigation.  

    apples and bricks (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by TeresaInPa on Thu May 31, 2012 at 05:23:01 AM EST
    why are you comparing consensual sex and assault?

    Parent
    Guilt by association/profession (4.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Yman on Wed May 30, 2012 at 07:22:55 PM EST
    High powered politicians are famous for bending the sexual rules (Kennedys, Berlusconi, Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Dominique Strauss-Kahn), so why can't people even imagine that these charges could at least be deserving of investigation.

    BTW - Interesting list.  You could expand it greatly by including Republicans - Mark Sanford, John Ensign, Larry Craig, David Vitter, Mark Foley, Dan Burton, Helen Chenoweth, Henry Hyde, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Guiliani, ...

    Not to mention some conservative, "family values", celebrity talk-show hosts - Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh ...

    Parent

    Assange should get his day in court (none / 0) (#10)
    by Payaso on Wed May 30, 2012 at 09:42:22 PM EST
    Let the chips fall as they may.

    Great Britain High Court Okays Assange Extradition | 15 comments (15 topical)

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