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| Julian Assange: Swedish court rejects appeal to lift arrest warrant |
| 2014-11-21 |
| From The Grauniad, near the obituaries... Stockholm's appeal court has rejected a demand by Julian Assange's lawyers to lift the arrest warrant against him, leaving the WikiLeaks founder still facing extradition to Sweden should he renounce his asylum in Ecuador's London embassy. But the court also noted that Sweden's investigation into Assange had come to a halt and prosecutors' failure to examine alternative avenues of investigation "is not in line with their obligation – in the interests of everyone concerned – to move the preliminary investigation forward". The ruling is expected to put pressure on prosecutors to find new ways to break the deadlock. Per Samuelsson, one of Assange's lawyers in Stockholm, said the court's criticism of the prosecutor was aimed at her refusal to come to London to question Assange. After the ruling he had spoken to Assange, who was disappointed but confident that they would prevail in the long run. Following a rejection of their demands by a lower court in July, Assange's lawyers argued in submissions to the appeal court that a European arrest warrant issued in November 2010 was being employed as a "coercive measure" against him because it could not be carried out, thereby condemning him to "deprivation of liberty" in order to exercise his right to asylum. In response to the appeal, the Swedish prosecutors in the case, Marianne Ny and Ingrid Isgren, said they accepted there was "a temporary obstacle" to executing the arrest warrant, but that it was nonetheless essential to prevent Assange from evading justice. His presence in the Ecuadorian embassy was voluntary and so did not constitute a deprivation of liberty, they said, thereby nullifying defence arguments about disproportionality. Assange has always claimed he is innocent and that he would be prepared to face a Swedish court were it not for a threat that he would be extradited to the US for political crimes. Neither the US nor Swedish governments have responded to his requests for guarantees. Assange has not been charged with any crime, but is being investigated over allegations of rape and sexual molestation. Legal opinion in Sweden is sharply divided on the case, with some arguing that the deadlock must be broken, principally by the prosecutors travelling to London to interview Assange. Politicians are reluctant to be seen to put pressure on prosecutors, while public opinion has wearied of the case. Mats Larsson, a columnist for Expressen, Sweden's largest tabloid, argued last month: "Everyone is tired of the Assange circus … it is high time it was resolved." |
| Posted by:Pappy |