Cidersomerset
13th March 2015, 17:56
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13 March 2015 Last updated at 11:39
Julian Assange case: Sweden U-turn on questioningJulian Assange - August 2014
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79155000/jpg/_79155582_024800615-1.jpg
Prosecutors want to question Mr Assange over allegations by two women
Swedish prosecutors have offered to travel to London to question Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange over sex assault allegations.Prosecutors had previously
insisted on questioning Mr Assange in Sweden, after seeking his arrest in 2010.
Mr Assange denies the assault claims and has been living at the Ecuadorean
embassy in London since 2012.He fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could
then be extradited to the US to face charges over leaking material.
A lawyer for Mr Assange, Per Samuelson, welcomed the move. "He is willing
to co-operate fully now in conducting this interrogation - this is a great victory
for him," he told the BBC World Service.
"We've been waiting for this for over four years."
The lead Swedish prosecutor explained the change of strategy by saying some
potential charges against Mr Assange would expire under the statute of
limitations in August.
"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the
Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview,
" Marianne Ny said in a statement.
"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to
accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that
the interview does not move the case forward."
Analysis: Maddy Savage, Stockholm
Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny has long resisted questioning Julian Assange
in London, arguing that it would lower the quality of her interviews and insisting
that he should be flown to Stockholm instead.
But the clock is ticking because under Swedish law there is a time limit for
investigating some offences. In Mr Assange's case, prosecutors only have
until August 2015 to question him about some of the allegations, although
they have until 2020 to investigate the most serious alleged rape offence.
It remains unclear how Friday's move affects Julian Assange's battle in
Sweden's Supreme Court, which earlier this week agreed to hear the
Wikileaks founder's appeal to have the European arrest warrant against
him lifted, as he continues to fight extradition to Sweden.
This case has had a relatively low profile in the Swedish press. Sweden
has a strong emphasis on privacy and journalists rarely name criminal
suspects. But news of his possible questioning in London is now
dominating headlines here.
Maddy Savage is editor of The Local Sweden
Mr Assange - an Australian journalist and activist - has not been formally
charged, but prosecutors want to question him over allegations of rape
and sexual misconduct made by two women he met during a trip to
Sweden in August 2010.
Ms Ny said she had made a request to Mr Assange's legal team to take a
DNA sample from him in London, as well as conducting questioning. Mr
Samuelson said that request would need to be discussed, since his client
had already left a DNA sample with UK police in 2010. Julian Assange
gives a speech from a balcony at the Ecuadorean embassy, August 2012
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/81618000/jpg/_81618449_assange2.jpg
Mr Assange has made several speeches from one of the Ecuadorean embassy's balconies
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/81618000/jpg/_81618451_assange1.jpg
Julian Assange on a video link to a human rights conference in Barcelona He
has also spoken to international conferences via video link Ecuador offered
Mr Assange asylum in August 2012, shortly after he sought refuge at the
country's embassy in London. In November a Swedish appeals court upheld
the warrant for his arrest, but criticised prosecutors for not making enough
effort to explore "alternative avenues" for interrogating Mr Assange.
If he was extradited, he would be detained upon arrival in Sweden.
Mr Samuelson said leaving the embassy and travelling to Sweden still presented
a risk for Mr Assange."If he leaves he loses his political immunity... he stands
to end up in an American prison for 35, 40 years," he said.
However, legal experts have pointed out several obstacles any extradition and
subsequent prosecution in the US would have to overcome.
Wikileaks has published thousands of secret documents, which have caused
intense embarrassment for the US and lifted the lid on diplomatic relations.
Mr Assange, 43, co-founded the website in 2006.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31867829
====================================================
Julian Assange lawyer: 'This is a great victory'
t3-yRbfmtxU
Published on 13 Mar 2015
Swedish prosecutors have offered to travel to London to question Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange over sex assault allegations.Sweden sought Mr Assange's arrest in
2010. Prosecutors had previously insisted on questioning him in Sweden. Mr
Assange denies the assault claims and has been living at the Ecuadorean embassy
in London since 2012.
He fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could then be extradited to the US to face
charges over leaking material.A lawyer for Mr Assange, Per Samuelson, welcomed
the move, describing it as a chance for Mr Assange to clear his name.
=======================================================
Assange Says Swedish Prosecutors Questioning Him in London A "Victory" - Lawyer
X94-4UaUI1A
====================================================
Swedish prosecutors ready to question Assange in London
VqmlMZNejRs
Published on 13 Mar 2015
Swedish prosecutors have offered to question Julian Assange in London - where he
is currently holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy. The whistleblower is wanted in
Sweden on sex assault charges, which he denies.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
13 March 2015 Last updated at 11:39
Julian Assange case: Sweden U-turn on questioningJulian Assange - August 2014
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79155000/jpg/_79155582_024800615-1.jpg
Prosecutors want to question Mr Assange over allegations by two women
Swedish prosecutors have offered to travel to London to question Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange over sex assault allegations.Prosecutors had previously
insisted on questioning Mr Assange in Sweden, after seeking his arrest in 2010.
Mr Assange denies the assault claims and has been living at the Ecuadorean
embassy in London since 2012.He fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could
then be extradited to the US to face charges over leaking material.
A lawyer for Mr Assange, Per Samuelson, welcomed the move. "He is willing
to co-operate fully now in conducting this interrogation - this is a great victory
for him," he told the BBC World Service.
"We've been waiting for this for over four years."
The lead Swedish prosecutor explained the change of strategy by saying some
potential charges against Mr Assange would expire under the statute of
limitations in August.
"My view has always been that to perform an interview with him at the
Ecuadorean embassy in London would lower the quality of the interview,
" Marianne Ny said in a statement.
"Now that time is of the essence, I have viewed it therefore necessary to
accept such deficiencies in the investigation and likewise take the risk that
the interview does not move the case forward."
Analysis: Maddy Savage, Stockholm
Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny has long resisted questioning Julian Assange
in London, arguing that it would lower the quality of her interviews and insisting
that he should be flown to Stockholm instead.
But the clock is ticking because under Swedish law there is a time limit for
investigating some offences. In Mr Assange's case, prosecutors only have
until August 2015 to question him about some of the allegations, although
they have until 2020 to investigate the most serious alleged rape offence.
It remains unclear how Friday's move affects Julian Assange's battle in
Sweden's Supreme Court, which earlier this week agreed to hear the
Wikileaks founder's appeal to have the European arrest warrant against
him lifted, as he continues to fight extradition to Sweden.
This case has had a relatively low profile in the Swedish press. Sweden
has a strong emphasis on privacy and journalists rarely name criminal
suspects. But news of his possible questioning in London is now
dominating headlines here.
Maddy Savage is editor of The Local Sweden
Mr Assange - an Australian journalist and activist - has not been formally
charged, but prosecutors want to question him over allegations of rape
and sexual misconduct made by two women he met during a trip to
Sweden in August 2010.
Ms Ny said she had made a request to Mr Assange's legal team to take a
DNA sample from him in London, as well as conducting questioning. Mr
Samuelson said that request would need to be discussed, since his client
had already left a DNA sample with UK police in 2010. Julian Assange
gives a speech from a balcony at the Ecuadorean embassy, August 2012
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/81618000/jpg/_81618449_assange2.jpg
Mr Assange has made several speeches from one of the Ecuadorean embassy's balconies
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/81618000/jpg/_81618451_assange1.jpg
Julian Assange on a video link to a human rights conference in Barcelona He
has also spoken to international conferences via video link Ecuador offered
Mr Assange asylum in August 2012, shortly after he sought refuge at the
country's embassy in London. In November a Swedish appeals court upheld
the warrant for his arrest, but criticised prosecutors for not making enough
effort to explore "alternative avenues" for interrogating Mr Assange.
If he was extradited, he would be detained upon arrival in Sweden.
Mr Samuelson said leaving the embassy and travelling to Sweden still presented
a risk for Mr Assange."If he leaves he loses his political immunity... he stands
to end up in an American prison for 35, 40 years," he said.
However, legal experts have pointed out several obstacles any extradition and
subsequent prosecution in the US would have to overcome.
Wikileaks has published thousands of secret documents, which have caused
intense embarrassment for the US and lifted the lid on diplomatic relations.
Mr Assange, 43, co-founded the website in 2006.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31867829
====================================================
Julian Assange lawyer: 'This is a great victory'
t3-yRbfmtxU
Published on 13 Mar 2015
Swedish prosecutors have offered to travel to London to question Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange over sex assault allegations.Sweden sought Mr Assange's arrest in
2010. Prosecutors had previously insisted on questioning him in Sweden. Mr
Assange denies the assault claims and has been living at the Ecuadorean embassy
in London since 2012.
He fears that if he is sent to Sweden he could then be extradited to the US to face
charges over leaking material.A lawyer for Mr Assange, Per Samuelson, welcomed
the move, describing it as a chance for Mr Assange to clear his name.
=======================================================
Assange Says Swedish Prosecutors Questioning Him in London A "Victory" - Lawyer
X94-4UaUI1A
====================================================
Swedish prosecutors ready to question Assange in London
VqmlMZNejRs
Published on 13 Mar 2015
Swedish prosecutors have offered to question Julian Assange in London - where he
is currently holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy. The whistleblower is wanted in
Sweden on sex assault charges, which he denies.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air