Arrest warrant issued for Wikileaks founder, for sex crimes

[Ivan Seeking]

Two days after Internet whistleblower WikiLeaks released 251,287 U.S. diplomatic cables to major media organizations including the New York Times and Der Spiegel, international police organization Interpol has placed founder Julian Assange on its wanted list for “Sex Crimes,” in a warrant issued by the Public Prosecution Office in Gothenburg, Sweden...

http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/30/wikileaks-julian-assange/

Wow, this should spice things up a bit! According to reports running on CNN right now, it is expected [speculation] that the US and others will file charges for his Wikileaks activities.

 

[drankin]

It just seemed like a matter of time before this was going to happen. I haven't been following this in depth but how did he come upon the information he was posting?

 

[Hepth]

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning released that one video of the attack on reporters from the helicopter, and I think he's still the prime suspect for the rest of the iraq/afghan diaries, though he hasn't been charged yet.

 

[MATLABdude]

The timing of this is terrible--it looks like people are out to 'get' him under spurious charges, rather than for legitimate reasons (which these may well be, especially if it's the Swedes who are pressing these). It's like Glenn 'I'm not a pedophile' Beck--where the heck did that even come from?

As to the provenance of the documents in question, the speculation is that it was Bradley Manning, the same guy who leaked earlier Afghanistan / Iraq documents to WikiLeaks:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-cables-bradley-manning

 

[Office_Shredder]

waht, unless you're suggesting that Assange raped Clinton or something, it seems like that would be more appropriate for a separate thread.

Sweden brought up charges similar to this a little while ago which were dropped when somebody else (not the original charging prosecutor) looked at the case and decided it was bunk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11049316

 

[Newai]

How does a country file charges against a non-U.S. citizen acting in another country?

 

[Office_Shredder]

How does a country file charges against a non-U.S. citizen acting in another country?

Countries can file charges against anyone committing a crime within their borders. The ability to enforce those charges once the person has left the country is limited to their ability to get the other country's government to agree to an extradition

 

[Newai]

Countries can file charges against anyone committing a crime within their borders. The ability to enforce those charges once the person has left the country is limited to their ability to get the other country's government to agree to an extradition

@&$%! I was thinking about the charges the U.S. is reported to file on Assange for the leaked cables. My bad. But since we're on the topic of his charges...

 

[Evo]

Sweden brought up charges similar to this a little while ago which were dropped when somebody else (not the original charging prosecutor) looked at the case and decided it was bunk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11049316

The latest.

Sweden to issue int'l warrant for Assange

STOCKHOLM — The elusive Australian behind the biggest leak of U.S. war documents in history is wanted by Sweden in a drawn-out rape probe, and could soon face an international arrest warrant curtailing his ability to jump from one country to another.

A Swedish court on Thursday approved a motion to bring Julian Assange, the 39-year-old founder of WikiLeaks, into custody for questioning. The decision paves the way for prosecutors to seek his arrest abroad through Interpol.

Assange, whose whereabouts are unknown, is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40250098/ns/world_news-europe/

Last I heard he's on the run trying to find a country to give him assylum.

 

[Proton Soup]

far too convenient. looks like a setup.

 

[Pengwuino]

far too convenient. looks like a setup.

This isn't new. He was being accused before even the first big leak.

 

[Proton Soup]

This isn't new. He was being accused before even the first big leak.

link says august. i think he's been under fire longer than that.

 

[mugaliens]

I'm not that surprised. When you find someone willing to violate serious and closely-held societal norms of propriety in one area, there are often other areas of deviant behavior.

 

[Dr Lots-o'watts]

So a free man, fighting for even more freedom (of the press), is now practically living as a fugitive. Some people just don't know when to stop.

 

[Mathnomalous]

The man may or may not be guilty of sex crimes, but the information released by Wikileaks is still valuable. I will not be surprised if Mr. Assange turns up "accidentally" dead.

 

[Proton Soup]

if he does get arrested, i wonder what it will take to trigger a key release for "http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/08/wikileaks_insur.html" "?

presumably, gov't types already know about this, and would either want to force his bluff, or consider the continuing operation of wikileaks to be a bigger threat than whatever could be contained there.

 

[f95toli]

Note that he is wanted for questioning;il it is not an arrest warrant and he has not been formally charged with anything. All that has happened is that the courts have decided that the prosecution has so much evidence that they should have the opportunity to question him regarding sexual assault and coercion charges (it is not a rape charge, that was the the original charge but it was dissmissed); it is entirely possible that they'll question him and then let's him go.

 

[Newai]

Note that he is wanted for questioning;il it is not an arrest warrant and he has not been formally charged with anything. All that has happened is that the courts have decided that the prosecution has so much evidence that they should have the opportunity to question him regarding sexual assault and coercion charges (it is not a rape charge, that was the the original charge but it was dissmissed); it is entirely possible that they'll question him and then let's him go.

News articles are reporting an arrest warrant:

The law is closing in on Julian Assange. Swedish authorities won a court ruling Thursday in their bid to arrest the WikiLeaks founder for questioning in a rape case, British intelligence is said to know where he's hiding, and U.S. pundits and politicians are demanding he be hunted down or worse.

...

Assange is accused in Sweden of rape, sexual molestation and coercion in a case from August, and Swedish officials have alerted Interpol and issued a European arrest warrant to bring him in for questioning.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-assange-legal-options-narrow.html

Questioning, yes. But it is an arrest warrant. Here's the Interpol flag that states it is an arrest warrant:

[PLAIN]http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/9379/wikileaksinternationala.jpg

Hmm. I wonder if WikiLeaks will leak his whereabouts...

 

[Gokul43201]

An interpol arrest warrant for sex crimes? I've never heard of that happening before. Does someone have the actual text of the warrant, i.e., what he is being charged with?

 

[turbo]

We should keep an open mind on this situation. The two women who alleged sexual misconduct initially were identified as Wikilieaks "volunteers". Is it possible that the authorities pressured them to allege such misconduct by threatening them with charges that could arise from prosecuting the leaks? Certainly, several national governments want to see him taken down and silenced, and they may not be all that ethical in the methods they pursue to that end.

 

[NobodySpecial]

Given that he is in the UK and the UK police didn't manage to arrest General Pinochet for mass murder on another european warrant - he's probably safe.

Unless of course you believe that the British Bobby is subject to any sort of political consideration.

 

[humanino]

An interpol arrest warrant for sex crimes? I've never heard of that happening before. Does someone have the actual text of the warrant, i.e., what he is being charged with?

Indeed. From wiki

In order to maintain as politically neutral a role as possible, Interpol's constitution forbids its involvement in crimes that do not overlap several member countries,[3] or in any political, military, religious, or racial crimes.[4] Its work focuses primarily on public safety, terrorism, organized crime, crimes against humanity, environmental crime, genocide, war crimes, piracy, illicit drug production, drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, child pornography, white-collar crime, computer crime, intellectual property crime and corruption.

See also
http://www.interpol.int/Public/Icpo/Publications/default.asp

 

[Newai]

An interpol arrest warrant for sex crimes? I've never heard of that happening before. Does someone have the actual text of the warrant, i.e., what he is being charged with?

Interpol has some information on their main page:

LYON, France - INTERPOL has made public the Red Notice, or international wanted persons alert, for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the request of Swedish authorities who want to question him in connection with a number of sexual offences.

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2010/PR101.asp

http://www.interpol.int/public/data/wanted/notices/data/2010/86/2010_52486.asp

 

[Evo]

We should keep an open mind on this situation. The two women who alleged sexual misconduct initially were identified as Wikilieaks "volunteers". Is it possible that the authorities pressured them to allege such misconduct by threatening them with charges that could arise from prosecuting the leaks? Certainly, several national governments want to see him taken down and silenced, and they may not be all that ethical in the methods they pursue to that end.

They weren't volunteers, one was listed as a "supporter", the other he met at a seminar. How they got to know about each other is my question.

 

[Newai]

I googled "Interpol sex crimes" and had trouble finding anything other than Assange.

Anyway, there seems to be some history of Interpol going after sex criminals. From Oct 18, 2007:

Alleged Sex Offender Wanted by Interpol

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Interpol has been searching for Mr. Neil for the past three years, after discovering more than 200 photos on the internet depicting sexual contact between a man and twelve young Asian boys.

http://www.suite101.com/content/profile-christopher-paul-neil-a33618

 

[turbo]

They weren't volunteers, one was listed as a "supporter", the other he met at a seminar. How they got to know about each other is my question.

OK, they apparently hooked up with Assange at a seminar he gave in August, then filed complaints against him together six days later. Hmm.

Investigators have not released details about either case, though a police report obtained by The Associated Press shows both women had befriended Assange in connection with a seminar he gave in Stockholm on Aug. 14.

The report shows they filed their complaints together six days later.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/julian-assange-wikileaks-_0_n_694719.html

 

[humanino]

I googled "Interpol sex crimes" and had trouble finding anything other than Assange.

If you search on their website (for instance the link I gave above) you will find that interpol has been after pedophiles, and "crimes against children" in general, for a long time. I do remember this case for instance

However, this does not apply to Assange.

 

[Jack21222]

Apparently, he's not even being charged with rape.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/articl...art-of-julian-assange-criminal-probe/19741444

Assange's London attorney, Mark Stephens, told AOL News today that Swedish prosecutors told him that Assange is wanted not for allegations of rape, as previously reported, but for something called "sex by surprise," which he said involves a fine of 5,000 kronor or about $715.

According to the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, the photographer contacted the other woman two days after her assignation with Assange, and the two apparently had a conversation in which it became clear they had both had sex with Assange. The photographer was worried about having had unprotected sex and decided she wanted to go to the police.

It looks like she had consensual unprotected sex, and then she had regrets about it later. In Sweden, this apparently constitutes a sex crime. Remind me to never go there.

 

[Mathnomalous]

"Sex by surprise"

 

[Office_Shredder]

So interpol put out an international warrant on a crime which has a punishment of a 700 dollar fine?

Waste of resources maybe?

 

[Mathnomalous]

So interpol put out an international warrant on a crime which has a punishment of a 700 dollar fine?

Waste of resources maybe?

Not if the target of the warrant is embarrassing the powerful, wealthy, and well-connected.

 

[NobodySpecial]

Not if the target of the warrant is embarrassing the powerful, wealthy, and well-connected.

What if the person IS embarrassing, powerful, wealthy, and well-connected ?

"The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said yesterday it was charging former United States Vice-President Dick Cheney over the bribery scandal involving an engineering firm, KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton." http://allafrica.com/stories/201012030493.html

 

[Werg22]

The timing of this is terrible--it looks like people are out to 'get' him under spurious charges, rather than for legitimate reasons (which these may well be, especially if it's the Swedes who are pressing these). It's like Glenn 'I'm not a pedophile' Beck--where the heck did that even come from?

As to the provenance of the documents in question, the speculation is that it was Bradley Manning, the same guy who leaked earlier Afghanistan / Iraq documents to WikiLeaks:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-cables-bradley-manning

Bullocks. The Swedes provided assistance to the Nazis, even when they claimed to be Neutral. They're not angels. This an arrest warrant standing on very shaky allegations. All signs point to BS.

 

[JaredJames]

This seems a bit of a hap-hazard way to go about taking him down.

If the governments really wanted him to be silenced I'm fairly sure there would be more effective ways (or charges) that could do it.

Personally, I think the best thing that could be done is the governments simply ignoring him and wikileaks. Just show they won't be pressured or affected by the site. The fact they're panicking just makes it look like they've got something to hide.

 

[NobodySpecial]

he fact they're panicking just makes it look like they've got something to hide.

Or they turn the leak into the story rather than the details of soldiers shooting civilians.