Sweden’s double standards on Julian Assange
posted by Peter Tatchell ... on Mon, 10/08/2015 - 11:40
Prosecutors have interviewed 44 people in UK since 2010. Why not Assange?
London, UK - 10 August 2015
"The Swedish prosecutors are guilty of double standards and victimisation. They’ve interviewed 44 people in the UK since 2010. Why not Assange? They are making an exception of him. He’s being singled out and treated differently. It is wrong to deny Assange the option to be interviewed in the UK, which has been extended to others and which he has been offering for five years”, said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
He was commenting on a Freedom of Information request revealing that Swedish prosecutors have interviewed 44 suspects in the UK since 2010, while for five years declining Julian Assange’s offer to be interviewed at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London. They have long insisted that he must go to Sweden to be interviewed about the sex allegations against him.
Mr Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, has supported Julian Assange for the last five years, on civil liberties grounds and on the grounds that he is a legitimate whistleblower.
“The Swedish authorities are not applying the law about overseas interviews consistently and fairly. They are acting in an exceptional and discriminatory way towards Assange,” added Mr Tatchell.
“A few weeks ago, a prosecutor from Sweden confided to me that the Assange case has been handled badly by Marianne Ny. He said she should have come to London to interview him five years ago. It is not unusual for Swedish prosecutors to interview suspects overseas, he confirmed, so it doesn’t make sense for them to not interview Assange in London.
“In November last year, the Swedish Court of Appeal found Ny in breach of her duty to proceed the case at maximum speed and efficiency. It took another seven months, until June this year, for Ny to request an interview with Assange in London. She then cancelled the interview at the last minute. The Swedish prosecutor is the main roadblock in the case. She is not only denying Assange the right to swift justice, she is hindering the legal process and should be taken off the case.
“Julian Assange has been in various forms of detention for five years, without ever having been charged with any offence. This amounts to pre-trial punishment and is a gross abuse of his human rights and the legal system.
“The Swedish prosecutor has still not made a decision on whether Assange should be charged, which makes his treatment all the more shocking.
“Assange’s case is an important civil liberties and human rights issue,” said Mr Tatchell.
SOURCE
http://www.petertatchellfoundation.org/civil-liberties/sweden-s-double-standards-julian-assange
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COMMENT
We should all be concerned that corrupt government can (and does) act with impunity (Britain, Sweden and US), while pontificating about 'American values,' 'Western values' or 'European values', democracy, and all the rest of the fanciful garbage they trot out, every time they seek to pull the wool over the public's eyes.
Sweden and the UK have got away with making an exception of Assange, dragging this out for 5 years, apparently determined to get Assange onto Swedish soil. And they're taking the worldwide public (and the British taxpayer) for fools: because they can.
The mainstream press that's supposed to play a key role as vital check to ensure just and democratic government, has allowed these corrupt forces to ride roughshod over journalism, justice, international law, and human rights.
Instead of fighting to put an end to the persecution of a fellow journalist, the corporate press just echoes the government narrative, without question.
The press should be screaming that this is taking place:
- Twelve million pounds (ie US$18 million) spent to date by UK, trapping Assange in the Ecuador embassy;
- 5-year-long insistence that Assange to go Sweden and Sweden's refusal to interview Assange in London - over a five year stretch;
- Sweden having made an exception of Assange, by refusing to interview him in London (unlike the 44 others they've interviewed in London).
All of the above show just how determined these people are to deny Assange justice, in order to despatch him to the US - as was their intention all along. That speaks for itself: this is political persecution, without any doubt.
I wonder just how much of a hand these governments have had in the 2010 developments in Sweden that brought about this suspiciously convenient de facto imprisonment of Assange?
UK is shamelessly making a performance of lodging a formal objection to Ecuador for granting political asylum to Assange (which, as a sovereign nation, it is entitled to grant).
UK ought rightfully be censuring Sweden for failing to resolve this matter 5 years ago and failing to interview Assange in London in all the years it has had to do so.
The only one that's been denied justice is the journalist that's been detained for nearly five years on flimsy Swedish police allegations. The same police that did not follow procedures, did not properly record (audio / video) interviews (while taking care not to apply these same lax standards to defence witnesses), the police that tampered with the police database, and the same police that did not get a sworn statement. And that's just for starters.
Although I've been following this for a while now, it has taken until now to really see this for what it is.
I say that on the basis of seeing the pantomime they're putting on now, as well as how they have conducted themselves to this point.
This is clearly politically motivated persecution.
Dead dictators would be proud of these conniving fascists.
This is disgusting. And it's unbelievable that this isn't a press and public uproar, particularly in Australia.
Journalist, Assange has been targeted because he and his organisation exposed war US crimes.
The same people that brought you constitutional violation, general contempt for the law, mass surveillance, surveillance of entire countries, rendition, torture, invasions on false pretexts etc, are the same lying, hypocritical, corrupt, coalition that has denied Assange liberty without charge.
What they're doing - and what the press permits them to do - is absolutely disgusting.
Please help support Australian journalist, Julian Assange, in any way you can:
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2012 - Notification to Sweden from Ecuardor: Assange Available
Sweden Refused To Interview Assange in London
Sweden Lied - Claimed 'cannot' interview London
Others Interviewed In London - 44 of them
The various politicians and their legal puppets have absolutely no conscience.
Politicians
Lying Psychopaths in Suits
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EU-NATO IMPERIALISM ❌ 
