One thing that always comes up when I discuss WikiLeaks with other lawyers, whatever country they may be from, is shared incredulity at Assange’s claim that he faces a great risk of hypothetical extradition to the US from Sweden, or that his risk would be greater there than in the UK…especially given that when it comes to extradition to the US, the UK has to be in the running for Top Poodle. But what do I know about Swedish law?
Thus, it it is reassuring and unsurprising to find a quality analysis of the Swedish legal rules relating to any hypothetical extradition request. And, no, according to Klamberg on Extraditing Assange from Sweden to the U.S. Assange wouldn’t seem to have much to worry about.
Which leads suspicious minds to wonder if perhaps there isn’t some other reason why Assange doesn’t want to be extradited to Sweden?
The contention is that Assange would be removed from Swedish custody by agents of the US government who have a precedent (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repatriation_of_Ahmed_Agiza_and_Muhammad_al-Zery) and a secret grand jury empaneled.
I don’t believe we can trust the national security state as it stands today not to run roughshod over our own constitution. Sweden is willing to hand people over for torture and abuse by regimes infamous for such activity, which now sadly includes the United States as well as Egypt, Syria, and others. I think we are in a frightening time as a country and we have lost our constitution to fear and manipulation by wealthy elites. We now have the technology to fulfill Orwell’s vision as well as the dystopia of Huxley, and a government and business axis willing to use those techniques to subjugate and control the world.
Absolutely the US will give him the extraordinary rendition treatment. Absolutely Sweden will do whatever the US bids. In the end, we will kill him. Absolutely he is safer with Latin America than he is with the Brits, tho he may sleep on an air mattress the rest of his days. No matter what any law says, anywhere in the world. The Rule of Law no longer applies – to Assange, to Manning or to you or me.
Don’t forget Sweden already questioned him, and gave him permission to travel to GB. Also don’t forget that one of the women alleging a crime is a former CIA asset!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/22/julian-assange-media-contempt
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/08/24/photo-accidentally-reveals-uk-determination-to-give-assange-no-way-out/?onswipe_redirect=never