Swedish Court To Julian Assange: No, You Still Can’t Leave – Video


Swedish Court To Julian Assange: No, You Still Can #39;t Leave
While Julian Assange #39;s latest appeal to lift his arrest warrant was rejected by a Swedish appeals court, the court also put pressure on prosecutors. Follow Sebastian Martinez: http://www.twitter.c...

By: Newsy World

Read the original post:
Swedish Court To Julian Assange: No, You Still Can't Leave - Video

Swedish court upholds Assange’s arrest warrant – CNN.com

Assange speaks from a window of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on December 20, 2012.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- A Swedish appeals court on Thursday denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's latest request to dismiss an arrest warrant for alleged rape and molestation -- cases that he says are false and politically motivated.

Assange, 43, has been living in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for more than two years to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another.

Assange, who has not been charged, denies the allegations and says he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks.

The Australia native has argued the warrant should be dismissed because, in part, Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy, thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago.

The appellate court nodded to this argument, agreeing that "the failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation ... to move the preliminary investigation forward."

But it concluded that, in balance, the arrest warrant must remain in effect because the crimes alleged are serious and because "there is a great risk that he will flee and thereby evade legal proceedings if the detention order is set aside."

"In the view of the court of appeal, these circumstances mean that the reasons for detention still outweigh the intrusion or other detriment entailed by the detention order," appellate judges wrote in Thursday's ruling.

Another appeal expected

Read more from the original source:
Swedish court upholds Assange's arrest warrant - CNN.com

Julian Assange’s Appeal is Rejected by Swedish Court

TIME World sweden Julian Assanges Appeal is Rejected by Swedish Court WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London on June 14, 2013. Anthony DevlinAFP/Getty Images Assange still faces extradition to Sweden if he leaves London's Ecuadorian embassy

The Swedish Court of Appeal has upheld an arrest warrant against the Australian Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, who is wanted for questioning regarding allegations of sexual assault and rape in Sweden.

Assange, who denies the allegations, has sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for more than two years in order to avoid extradition. A Swedish prosecutor first issued an arrest warrant for Assange in 2010 but Assange had appealed for this order to be revoked.

The Court explained its reasoning in upholding the detention order in a statement, saying that Julian Assange is suspected of crimes of a relatively serious nature.

There is a great risk that he will flee and thereby evade legal proceedings if the detention order is set aside, the court argued, but also noted that Swedens investigation into Assange remains deadlocked.

[Guardian]

Continued here:
Julian Assange’s Appeal is Rejected by Swedish Court

Julian Assange’s detention order upheld by Swedish court …

STOCKHOLM A Swedish appeals court upheld the detention order on Julian Assange on Thursday, dismissing a challenge by the WikiLeaks founder who is wanted by Swedish prosecutors in an investigation of alleged sex crimes.

Confirming a ruling by a lower court, the Svea appeals court said there is no reason to lift the detention order just because it cannot be enforced at the moment.

Assange has avoided being extradited to Sweden by taking shelter in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. The court also criticized the prosecutors, who have declined Assanges offer to be questioned in London, for not considering alternative avenues to move the investigation forward.

He hasnt been formally indicted in Sweden, but he is wanted for questioning by police over allegations of sexual misconduct and rape involving two women he met during a visit to the Scandinavian country in 2010. He denies the allegations.

His lawyers argued that the detention order that underlies Swedens request for his extradition should be lifted, on the grounds that it cannot be enforced while he is at the embassy and because it is restricting Assanges civil rights.

In the view of the Court of Appeal there is no reason to set aside the detention solely because Julian Assange is in an embassy and the detention order cannot be enforced at present for that reason, the court said in a statement.

The reasons for detention still outweigh the reasons to the contrary since Julian Assange is suspected of crimes of a relatively serious nature and there is a great risk that he will evade legal proceedings or punishment if the detention order is set aside, the court added.

Assanges lawyer Per E. Samuelson said the defense team would appeal the decision to Swedens Supreme Court.

Go here to see the original:
Julian Assange's detention order upheld by Swedish court ...

Julian Assange’s arrest warrant still stands, Swedish …

A Swedish appellate court has denied WikiLeaks founder Julian Assanges bid to have his arrest warrant set aside.

On Thursday, the Svea Court of Appeal upheld a city courts decision, saying in an online statement that "Julian Assange is suspected on probable cause of crimes including rape (less serious crime) and that there is a great risk that he will evade legal proceedings or punishment."

The Australian remains wanted in Sweden for questioning relating to alleged sex offenses dating back to 2010however, Assange has not yet been formally charged with a crime. According to Assanges own September 2013 affidavit, he stated that the women he slept with specifically said they were not accusing him of rape and that police "made up the charges."

As a result of the case, Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he was granted asylum in 2012. The embassy, in turn, is constantly surrounded by London policethe city government is spending around $16,000 each day to keep an eye on Assange. He refuses to go to Sweden over fears that he will be extradited to the United States to face further potential charges relating to WikiLeaks publication of classified material.

"In the view of the Court of Appeal there is no reason to set aside the detention solely because Julian Assange is in an embassy and the detention order cannot be enforced at present for that reason," the appellate court added."When it comes to the reasons for and against detention, i.e. the assessment of proportionality that is always made when use is made of a coercive measure such as detention, the Court of Appeal considers that Julian Assanges stay at the embassy shall not count in his favour since he can himself choose to bring his stay there to an end."

However, the court also added that there was a failure of the prosecutors to examine alternative avenues is not in line with their obligation, suggesting that there may be an alternative method to questioning Assange, such as doing it at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Last month, top British officials indicated they would be amendable to such a solution.

These are matters for the [Swedish] prosecutor to decide on, but if she wished to travel here to question Mr. Assange in the embassy in London, we would do absolutely everything to facilitate that. Indeed, we would actively welcome it, Foreign Minister Hugo Swire said in the House of Commons.

Assanges Swedish attorney, Per Samuelson, told local media that Assange would appeal the decision to the Swedish Supreme Court.

Visit link:
Julian Assange’s arrest warrant still stands, Swedish ...