MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Hague says Assange rights protected by Sweden, UK, EU and international law
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that any suggestion of a risk of breach for Julian Assange’s human rights on extradition to Sweden is completely unfounded and recalled that international, EU and UK law fully address the concerns raised by Assange and by the Government of Ecuador. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesThere are two basic problems with Hague's position.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 07:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0The first is that Sweden has, in the past, cooperated with the US in its “Extraordinary Rendition” (aka kidnapping and torture) programs. The question that should be asked is Assange in danger of being kidnapped from Sweden - with Sweden's cooperation.
The second is that how can it be that Assange, and Australian citizen, formally residing in the UK, and not having been accused of committing any crime within the US, can possibly be subject to US law at all? The whole discussion implies that the US considers that it has some sort of universal jurisdiction. Espionage, which is basis of the current US investigation and possible indictment, is a political crime. This makes this doctrine of universal jurisdiction especially troubling.
Neither the UK nor Sweden nor the EU have addressed the issue of extraditing or extraordinarily rendering Assange (or anybody else) who is accused of a political crime. Lacking this protection Assange had no choice but to seek asylum.
@1
Sep 04th, 2012 - 09:08 am - Link - Report abuse 0There are no problems with Hague's position.
As you quite clearly state “not having been accused of committing any crime within the US, can possibly be subject to US law at all”
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/09/04/hague-says-assange-rights-protected-by-sweden-uk-eu-and-international-law#comment160278: If the US accuses Assange of violating US law outside the territorial limits of the US then the US will attempt to extradite him. That's the problem of the US's claim of universal jurisdiction.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 09:22 am - Link - Report abuse 0#1
Sep 04th, 2012 - 09:22 am - Link - Report abuse 0You beat me to it - on all your points.
#2
The 'duck can be lined up' at a moment's notice.
Accusation, arrest, extradition, trial and imprisonment can be effected before you can say “Lugo, Paraguay and Suspension”. That quick!
All it needs is collusion between nations; The USA, the UK, Sweden, and Australia.
No, of course, that could never happen ...
@4
Sep 04th, 2012 - 09:29 am - Link - Report abuse 0So why has this not happened in the last few years ?
I have no sympathy for Assange. He took stolen documents and published them for the titillation of readers - not unlike people reading the gossip columns - without any consideration for the consequences. Diplomatic documents should be private for very good reasons.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 10:07 am - Link - Report abuse 0I often wonder if the same people that support Assange obtaining illegally and publishing private information also express outrage at the NOTW doing the same thing.
This whole nonsense that Assange will be whisked off to the US as soon as his feet touch Swedish soil is a fabrication whipped up by a man attempting to avoid facing the law. Assange is a famewhore which is why just about everyone that worked with him at Wikileaks cannot stand him.
@4 GeoffWard2 (#)
Sep 04th, 2012 - 10:13 am - Link - Report abuse 0But Geoff. Wikileaks isn't just Julian Assange. There are plenty of people working for Wikileaks. Nobody at Wikileaks as been extraordinarily rendered. Then again, nobody else at Wikileaks has been accused of rape.
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/09/04/hague-says-assange-rights-protected-by-sweden-uk-eu-and-international-law#comment160299: What WikiLeaks actually did was release US government documents to their owners, the US public. You may have been titillated but I have found them very informative. In any case you cannot have a problem with the US public reading US government documents - can you?
Sep 04th, 2012 - 11:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0What you think are the consequences of the release are (beyond titillation) I cannot imagine but it has been suggested that one possible outcome has been the “Arab Spring”. This may be a long bow to draw but, at the very least, the release did inform the revolutions.
It may be the case that the scenario is a fabrication but, if it is so, it is one that the US and Sweden can demolish very simply. But they refuse to do so.
The US, UK and Sweden have been acting unlawfully for a number of years now. The real story is that these actions do have consequences (who knew!). Public trust in government has been destroyed.
“UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that any suggestion of a risk of breach for Julian Assange’s human rights on extradition to Sweden is completely unfounded”
Sep 04th, 2012 - 11:38 am - Link - Report abuse 0Of course they are........ Right up to the point where he gets deported to the USA!!
We all know what will happen once Sweden gets their sticky little mits on him. He will become “persona non grata” ( I hope I've spelt it right ) and then he will suddenly “appear” in some court room in the US.
8 - If i stole or published the shear volume of top secret government documents in the uk i would be locked away. In the US a citizen doing that would recieve a hefty prison sentence. And in Argentina iam sure you would be taken for a helicopter ride dressed as a nun. Secret state documents are not owned by the people.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0http://en.mercopress.com/2012/09/04/hague-says-assange-rights-protected-by-sweden-uk-eu-and-international-law#comment160302: There are other members of WikiLeaks. But if you have been looking at the site you will have seen that it has been quiet since early 2011. Assange is clearly the kingpin.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@8 No, the public does NOT have the right to see classified documents. How naive are you?
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Surely you are not trying to construct a case for claiming Assange started the Arab Spring? You really need to educate yourself.
Honestly, people are trying to make Assange into a romantic figure like Robin Hood who was supposed to have stolen from the rich to give to the poor. (The reality was he was a highwayman who robbed people. The only person getting rich was Robin Hood. Kinda like a certain CFKC when you think about it). Assange published confidential documents to titillate readers who enjoy gossip and conspiracy theories. He did it for his own ends and now basks in the limelight at every given opportunity. He is a famewhore. (Again, kinda like a certain CFKC).
@11
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0WikiLeaks have nothing left to leak so it is natural that they would be quite.
The only thing that has kept them in the news is Assange being a coward and refusing to go to Sweden to clear his name.
Nobody is accusing Assange of stealing documents ... though he may be charged with handling stolen property .. amongst the hundreds of charges, both civil and military, that could be brought to bear.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No, his greatest crime is likely to be letting the world know what's going on in the democratic lead-country of the Western World.
I found these Wikileaks interesting reading, and the vast majority of it showed the USA in a good light.
(I just happen to find Ambassadors' briefings more interesting than News Of The World 'exposes'.)
But I agree, it is not my right as a human being to know such things.
he should be treated like any other suspect, and defend himself in front of the law of that land , The UK has been forced into this situation by the cowardly act of a foreign double rape suspect something his champions ecuador has disturbingly overlooked,
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0there are terrible allegations against him that no government can brush under the carpet and allow him free passage even if they wanted too, eventually he will face the music for these sexual crimes, until then house arrest pending trial
if hes wanted on another criminal case then thats life, you have to answer for your actions in life, instead of hiding behind countries putting off the inevitable.
Man up, or do you only do that against women?
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/09/04/hague-says-assange-rights-protected-by-sweden-uk-eu-and-international-law#comment160338: Stole? As far as I know Assange has not stolen anything. May be you know different.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 12:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Receiving and publishing classified documents is not a crime in the US. For instance the editor of the NY Times has not even been investigated.
The problem is that Assange is not in the US and is not connected to the US in any way. He does not have the protections afforded to a US citizen.
Your assertion that “state secrets” are not owned by the people is remarkable in a liberal democracy. In any case the US government disagrees with you. For instance, no news paper employee was prosecuted as a result of publishing the “Pentagon Papers” Likewise, the NY Times has published the WikiLeaks material without prosecution. It is not against the law to print US documents in the US:
“Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.”
Is it significant that they have reverted to talking(and probably threatening) with Ecuador for them to play ball,(rather than comply with any clear legal requirement),and allow the extradition of Assange.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 01:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What happened to the gung-ho threatening to enter the embassy and kidnap(and extradition)of Assange.
All this reveals that there is more determination to this issue than relations between the Uk and Sweden.
Wonderful how detailed the article is,but then mercopress editing is pro-western anyway,and they are trying to make this matter seen as more favourable to the western perspective.
“Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government.”
Sep 04th, 2012 - 01:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Someone should pin that on CFKC's mirror.
There is always going to be sensitive information that cannot be in the public domain. Partly because of national security and for the protection of people. If all information was immediately available to all of the world's population, there would be no brokering or resolutions that could be negotiated 'behind closed doors'. Imagine if all documents were immediately available to the public during war time?
Usually, documents are graded and released after a period of time when the information is unlikely to harm anyone. Or they are stolen and published by a famewhore.
And just why do we need another lengthy press release from Hague at this time in this “news” site...
Sep 04th, 2012 - 01:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is really pathetic how many fool actually fall for Assange's lies and evasions.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 01:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 01: Why not question him in the UK? - And then what? If he doesn't want to go to Sweden for questioning he certainly will not want to to for arrest and trial.
2: Why does Assange want guarantees? - Why would he trust a guarantee from a government he is convinced will shred it's own law and international treaties in it's haste to ship him to the US?
3: Sweden have extradited illegally to the US before! - Yes, in the aftershocks of 9/11 and the war on terror. However Sweden got badly burned in that transaction and it was a major political outrage over the matter.
Besides I don't see why the US would care to pursue Assange at this particular time. He is doing more damage to himself and Wikileaks than the US possibly could without using cruise missiles.
Assange has been so good to his friends too, the man must be sitting on a moral mountain top : -)
Sep 04th, 2012 - 02:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/9519767/Julian-Assanges-backers-lose-200000-bail-money.html
http://en.mercopress.com/2012/09/04/hague-says-assange-rights-protected-by-sweden-uk-eu-and-international-law#comment160350: That may be although I doubt it. Certainly there is much more that needs to be leaked. While what happens to Assange is important from a justice point of view the key issue is what happens to WikiLeaks. The world needs many WikiLeak sites.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 03:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I would have liked Assange to step down from WikiLeaks when the warrant was issued. He is, in effect, the single point of failure for that organization. The risk is that he will take it down with him.
To any reasonable person, Wikileaks has already failed as an organisation.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 03:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0How many people died as a result of their identity being publisehed? Just think of Venezuela, Correa in Ecuador, the bad old days in Cuba.
The way things are going in Argentina it will be nuns outfit bonanza sales time soon.
@21
Sep 04th, 2012 - 03:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Well Tom, if he's a bad roommate in well... lots of areas...
http://splitsider.com/2011/03/allison-silverman-recreates-julian-assange-terrible-houseguest/
(a parody based in the reports of former hosts)
... well he's going to be a wanker in other areas too, eh?
Does anybody know how many people have died as a direct result of the actions of-
Sep 04th, 2012 - 06:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Julian Assange
George Bush jr
Pinochet
Kagame
No concessions from Hague then.
Sep 04th, 2012 - 06:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Jules recons he’s in for a 6 mth to a year stay.
Optimistic, very optimistic.
When he does finally come out of the embassy, watch for the “puff of smoke from behind the grassy knol”.
@19 And just why do we need another lengthy press release from Hague at this time in this “news” site...
Sep 04th, 2012 - 07:22 pm - Link - Report abuse 0To make a break from your fantasy dry humps incessant whinging, it makes a change to hear someone talking sense, instead of inventing history, scweaming and scweaming till they make everyone sick, and you getting off on a picture of the botox queen. Let him rot in Ecuadoran embassy till they can't stand the sight of each other and he either walks or they kick him out. No doubt under a load of political rhetoric from ecuador about how they respect international law and did the right thing etc etc etc jada jada crock of shit. to top it off all the numpties who put up bail money have ..................guess what LOST IT !! will he care not one jot.
@19 And just why do we need another lengthy press release from Hague at this time in this “news” site...
Sep 04th, 2012 - 09:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It wasn't a press release, it was a statement to Parliament that has subsequently been reported in the press.
YPF/Gazprom energy company reached a strategic accord
Sep 04th, 2012 - 11:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019064782_apltargentinarussiagas.html
These negotiations to ensure his 'human rights' should be taking place with Australia. He is an Australian.
Sep 05th, 2012 - 11:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0Assange is just a foreigner who happened to be in England when Sweden issued an arrest request that he might be questioned in Sweden.
................
Sweden did undertake 'Extraordinary Renditions' for the USA as part of 'the war against terror',
so the USA or its surrogates people could 'question' people, water-board torture, incarcerate in third countries, and otherwise 'disappear' them, beyond public scrutiny.
The Swedes made new law such that this no longer happens within national territory.
................
'What WikiLeaks actually did was release US government documents to their owners, the US public. You ... cannot have a problem with the US public reading US government documents - can you?' (Hepatia #8)
... Disingenuous.
You know the release was to the whole world, enemy and friend alike. That's what Wikileaks does.
Elaine makes good comment on this, and, though I took peculiar delight in reading the 'goings on behind closed doors', I know that the global release of private papers was - and remains - wrong in principle (though perhaps 'right' in the insight it gave to the UN's war against Iraq).
@1, 3, 8, 11, 16, 22 Look, hepatitis, you obviously don't have a clue so why do you waste everyone's time with your drivel? The only real connection that the United States has with this matter is that Assange craps his pants every time he hears those two words. Because he's a coward. But it's unsurprising because if you steal something, you can expect the owner to come looking for you. Persuading someone else to steal for you is all part of the same crime. That's called justice! The issue is a simple one. Assange is accused of nasty, deviant, sexual offences in Sweden. Sweden wants him back in order to apply its judicial processes. The UK is co-operating with that as any civilised nation would. I recognise your difficulty in this area as there are few nations and even less civilisation in South America. And you might like to consider that Assange was not “formally living” in the UK. His “home”, if he has one, is in Iceland. He is, unfortunately, an unwanted visitor to the UK. I'm not going to respond to all your claptrap about the United States because it's just that, delusional claptrap started by Assange as he tries to evade justice for his crimes. But let's consider for a moment just what the United States has done whilst Assange has been in the UK. Have they asked for his extradition from the UK to the US? No. Have they “snatched” him off the street? No. Have they spirited him into the US airbase about 50 miles from his bail address? No. Have they convened a special court on the airbase to try him? No. Have they spirited him onto a USAF aircraft and transported him to the US? No. Have they just put him in the base firing range and executed him? No. Similar things have been done in the past, notably by Israel. Do you think the US couldn't do such things? Assange is just a narcissistic user. He used Bradley Manning. Then he used all those celebrities who put up his bail money. And have now lost it! On latest reports, £340,000.
Sep 05th, 2012 - 01:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Conkerer.The reason hepatia posts is quite obliviously to provoke you into posting the drivel you are so good at.And what has happened to Bradley Manning and why,conkerer, for you to be so concerned about him in your moments of softness.(or devils advocacy)
Sep 05th, 2012 - 03:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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