Lawyer for WikiLeaks's Assange denies warrant valid

[avaistheone1]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The lawyer acting for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange denied on Thursday that Sweden had issued a valid European arrest warrant for alleged sex crimes, despite Stockholm's insistence that legal difficulties with the warrant were resolved.

Swedish police said earlier that technical problems hindering the arrest of the 39-year-old Australian had been ironed out, and a newspaper report said he was in Britain.

But in an interview with Reuters, his London lawyer, Mark Stephens, who would not divulge his whereabouts because of death threats against him, said no warrant valid under Swedish, European or international law had been issued.

"There is no arrest warrant against him. There was an Interpol red notice, which is not a warrant, alerting authorities to monitor his movements," Stephens told Reuters.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AP06Z20101203

[Poll_Blind]

1. Backed up by the InterPol website itself:

Here. The very first words on that page are "An Interpol Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant."

If he is in the UK, and the Swedish police have the balls to, they can go ahead and arrest him. But as you can see from other reports the UK is hesitant to- it's not their "job" to do. They may do it anyway, but it's unclear exactly who has the cajones to slap the cuffs on him.

That he's somehow melted away into the woodwork is bullshit.

PB

[14thColony]

2. And that's what makes this so strange

I have some limited experience working with Interpol on behalf of a European country to get Red Notices issued on a couple of their citizens. In my limited experience, and I am by no means an expert in this, Interpol only issues Red Notices based on receipt of a valid, justifiable domestic arrest warrant issued by the requesting nation and not otherwise in violation of international human rights law. In my case I saw Interpol kick the request back to the country in question twice demanding more evidence and clarification -- in my experience Interpol doesn't just rubber stamp any request they get, their legal staff have to be convinced that a high standard of probable cause was met. And in my case these were VERY serious charges, as in mastermind of an international terrorist/crime syndicate kind of stuff, backed up by lots of evidence. It still took many months to get the Red Notices issued.

While a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, it IS a worldwide alert that a person is wanted for serious crimes in some country. It IS a serious request for all countries to be on the lookout to detain the person with an eye to extradite him/her to the home country. So since a Red Notice is in effect a request to "grab that guy and give him to us", it kinda has to be based on a domestic warrant -- BUT THIS ONE ISN'T.

So I feel compelled to ask: What The Puck is going on here?

[go west young man]

3. Apparently they can't find a picture of him either.

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

[maddezmom]

4. from The Independent: a procedural error with the European Arrest Warrant had delayed the arrest of

Net closes on Assange: arrest by British police expected in days

Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, is expected to be arrested in the coming days after Swedish prosecutors filed a new warrant with British authorities.


The Independent revealed yesterday that a procedural error with the European Arrest Warrant had delayed the arrest of the 39-year-old Australian, who is wanted in Sweden over sexual allegations but has been in England since October.

Police in Gothenburg claim they have now submitted a fresh warrant to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Soca is expected to instruct Scotland Yard to arrest Mr Assange and have him appear before an extradition hearing – although as of last night the Metropolitan Police had yet to receive the warrant.

more:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/net-closes-on-assange-arrest-by-british-police-expected-in-days-2149805.html

[Turborama]

5. If he's innocent, why doesn't he just go there and deal with it?

There are no other warrants out for his arrest so he will probably get bail until the court case anyway, won't he?

[maddezmom]

7. I've been wondering what he's going to do when he's VISA expires in the UK

Will he have to go back to Australia?

[EFerrari]

9. Every time one of these jackasses calls for his assassination

they make a case for asylum that a really independent court would have to consider.

[Turborama]

10. Any idea what type of visa he's on & how long he's got left on it?

If he overstays and is kicked out, he'll be banned from going back for 10 years under http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&q=ukba+320+7b&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=">paragraph 320 7b.

[maddezmom]

12. I'm not sure what kind of VISA he has, just read press reports that it expires early next year

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

18. depending on his family history he may have a claim to UK citizenship

and or residency, as he was born before 1983 the laws are quite liberal for commonwealth citizens.

[EFerrari]

8. Sweden's good faith has been cast into doubt

and as we have now seen, the US has no compunction about interfering in the judicial processes of other nations. That together with the US habit of kidnapping people and holding them without charge, makes simply walking in less than attractive, imo. His lawyer said they'd offered several different alternatives to the prosecutor but that the prosecutor hasn't responded to them.

[Turborama]

11. Isn't that a bit arrogant, offering a prosecutor "alternatives"?

Isn't it usually the other way around?

[EFerrari]

13. Not in this situation as it is.

Assange left Sweden with permission. The prosecutor hadn't issued a warrant until this week, so those offers came before that warrant was even issued. And what is unsaid in all of this is that the presecutor's case is crap.

And, Assange's lawyer pointed out today on Amy's show that Assange is keeping a low profile because of threats on his life, not because he's evading arrest. That's also gotten lost in this spin cycle.

[Turborama]

14. Well, if those threats are coming from Sweden of course it would be dangerous for him to go there

If they are coming from within Britain he'd be better off leaving with a police escort. If they are coming from Australia he can try and seek asylum in Britain. Does the lawyer give any specifics about these threats?


Maybe the assassination threats are lost in general, but I've posted an OP with an article from ABC Australia which mentions them (which I also added it to the title).

[EFerrari]

15. The lawyer mostly mentioned high profile people

like that conservative aide in Canada and like Palin who have called for his assassination. Going into details on the air is probably not a good idea.

The elephant in the room is that the Pentagon hates Wikileaks and hates Julian.

[Turborama]

16. I should have read the interview before asking that question.

Thanks for posting it, BTW.

If he's "incredibly keen to clear his name", surely he could just make the 2 hour flight to Sweden and do that? He hasn't been declared a "terrorist" by anyone other than King and Palin and they can't hand out executive orders, fortunately. I know there's the old, "don't fly in small planes" thing but I doubt they'd bring down a Scandinavian Airlines plane and murder possibly hundreds of innocent civilians just to get him. If he has police protection from door to door he'll be protected.

I'm trying to be objective and work out how he can clear his name so they don't have this one thing they've got on him anymore, if he is innocent.

[EFerrari]

17. Sure, the simplest thing would be to fly in and get it done.

But that only works if Sweden is acting in good faith and, it really doesn't look like it is. He hasn't even been charged but is technically wanted as a witness, for example, and the charges are very slippery. Yet, they got Interpol involved. That smells to heaven.

[EFerrari]

6. Amy interviewed the lawyer this morning:

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/2/attorney_confirms_wikileaks_founder_julian_assange