It's a few weeks since this ZGBlog commented on Julian
Assange's troubles, but now he's back in court in London, and his
lawyers have been busy. I hesitate to use the term "good
lawyer" because it's so nearly an oxymoron, but his has
produced a crackerjack defense and published
it for our reading pleasure and the discomfort of the
prosecutors. Good daily coverage appears from that city in The
Telegraph, and if there is any justice left in the old
country, he will surely get it. I must confess to
not understanding the importance of preventing his transfer North
East. It's often stated that in some way that would make it
easier for him to be extradited to the USA, where the FedGov's full fury
can descend on him directly, but if the
Feds want him and can express half a reason, could they not readily
get him from Britain non-stop? That case for the defense is powerful. The warrant for his
extradition was made by Marianne Ny in Gothenburg, itself an odd
thing because that city is far distant from Stockholm and
Enköping, where the alleged crimes were committed. One
suggestion is that Ny is a virulent FemiNazi who could not wait
to author the warrant and particularly asked her government for
the honor. At any rate, a precedent case says the only
"authority" in Sweden qualified to issue such a warrant
is the "National Police Board", of which Marianne Ny is
not even a member. So, Defense alleges, the warrant is, on its
face, completely void. It continues by arguing that the extradition warrant was
issued for an improper purpose - to question Assange further, not
to prosecute him - that the alleged offenses are not extraditable
anyway (not being crimes in England, according to evidence
presented), and that his human rights would be violated
under Section 21 of the 2003 Extradition Act;
"extradition to Sweden would breach his human
rights because Sweden has, in the past, extradited suspects to
Egypt, which has been accused of torture."
Powerful stuff. The case details Assange's encounters with the two young
groupies who, upon discovering he had slept with the other, each
expressed her anger by complaining of rape, pretty well as Hell's
Fury related here on December 9th. Judgement will be rendered primarily on the basis of what the
political masters want to happen, but if the defense case is
logically overwhelming it's just possible that he will win. It's
also possible that those political masters would rather this
matter be buried from public view rather than paraded every few
weeks in the headlines; it must bring them anguish to have a
leaker on the loose, but maybe there is more anguish in having
the public reminded that often how sick the leaks have made them
look. Another possibility is that with Assange's nuclear
option pending, they'd really prefer to hush it all up. It's
a thin thread on which to hang a good man's future, but I'll not
discount it. Just imagine, how silly all this will appear when our zero
government society has begun! There will be no war being waged
whose ugly secrets can be leaked, nor any ambassadors whose
too-frank appraisals can be made public. Wikileaks' work will be
done, for there will be nothing left to leak.
11A041
Assange in Court
by Jim Davies, 2/10/2011
Had enough GOVERNMENT yet?
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