London Police threatens to storm Ecuador's Embassy

[janvanvurpa]

Malbec from what i understand Sweden and USA have signed some sort ofagreement about the lending
of arrested people. the USA and UK does not have this type of agreement.

Also 8 years ago two Egyptian asylum seekers were extradite from Sweden to Egypt with the help of CIA.
These two were later tortured in Egypt during interrogation and sentenced to long prison sentences by a military tribunal.

Repatriation of Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Police have been for more than 100 years an isolated and incredibly inbred segment of the society in Sweden and is acknowledged by all to be out of touch with the society--and conservative--imagine that. The Swedish Secret Police SÄPO has a well documented history of extra-legal actions in violation of law and with cooperation with US Intelligence Agencies with the excuse of neccessity because of the threat of the "fiendet från Öster" the Enemy from the East and I don't think they meant Finland. They tend to be ultra-rightists and have documented undue influence with the Polis.

All this has been well established. that's one thing good about the obsessive/compulsive nature of the people there, some reporters just keep digging.

[ioan]

The UK hasn't actually done anything yet! I suspect it won't, either, now the letter has been revealed. The precedent would be just too dangerous.

The fact that they even thought about it is bad enough in today's already tense world.

[Malbec]

Malbec from what i understand Sweden and USA have signed some sort ofagreement about the lending
of arrested people. the USA and UK does not have this type of agreement.

Also 8 years ago two Egyptian asylum seekers were extradite from Sweden to Egypt with the help of CIA.
These two were later tortured in Egypt during interrogation and sentenced to long prison sentences by a military tribunal.

Repatriation of Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No, the UK and USA do not have that kind of agreement, it is far more powerful than that and is weighted more heavily in favour of the US. It was introduced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and is one way, ie the same does not apply for British requests to extradite from the US.

It does not matter whether the person has been arrested, the US can request the British to arrest the person on their behalf. It does not matter whether the charges the US wants them to face are legal in the UK nor if the UK has already found them innocent of the same charges. The defendant does not need to be informed of the charges. The evidence only has to be presented to the home secretary and does not require a judicial review. It also does not matter whether the punishment the person may receive at the hands of the US judicial system are way in excess of that considered fair here, which is a consideration for extradition to other countries.

Which is why I raised several examples, Babar Ahmed, the Natwest executives and several computer hackers, all of whom have been extradited to the US or are facing extradition.

Extradition Act 2003 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You raise the case of two Egyptians extradited by Sweden via the US to Egypt who were tortured. So what? Do you think Britain hasn't done worse? Haven't you heard of the case of the Libyan rebel leader who it turns out MI6 captured and extradited to Libya so Gaddafi's forces could torture him? Britain went in fully for extraordinary rendition, both in terms of capturing and handling/extraditing prisoners.

The idea that it would be easier to extradite Assange from Sweden rather than the UK is laughable. Please don't persist in this myth.

[Malbec]

I would tend to agree with you, but this article presents quite a reasonable counter-argument:

Julian Assange's right to asylum | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

This article does not compare the Swedish extradition treaty with the US with that of the British, and the type of justice he'd receive in the US is not directly relevant as it will be the same whether he went from the UK or Sweden.

I fully agree that Sweden's record in extradition is by no means perfect but that ignores the rather incredible arrangements our country has with the US which beggar belief in its one sidedness and lack of transparency.

I don't see how this can be achieved without his leaving the embassy, and thus being extradited to the US on charges far more trumped-up than the rape ones. It has, as I said before, become an impossible situation.

This is my point, during the period Assange was essentially free to roam around London the US could have applied for extradition. This didn't happen despite the legal mechanisms being in place. That the Americans haven't pressed for it should tell you a lot, that Assange is claiming the danger of being extradited to the US is why he is opposing deportation to Sweden should tell you even more...

[BDunnell]

The fact that they even thought about it is bad enough in today's already tense world.

'They'? It could very well have been an ill-advised individual. Far be it for me to stick up for a British government I disagree with politically, but I find it hard to believe entering a foreign embassy was ever official policy.

[ioan]

'They'? It could very well have been an ill-advised individual. Far be it for me to stick up for a British government I disagree with politically, but I find it hard to believe entering a foreign embassy was ever official policy.

I very much doubt that such actions are left to be decided by a single individual.

[BDunnell]

This article does not compare the Swedish extradition treaty with the US with that of the British, and the type of justice he'd receive in the US is not directly relevant as it will be the same whether he went from the UK or Sweden.

I fully agree that Sweden's record in extradition is by no means perfect but that ignores the rather incredible arrangements our country has with the US which beggar belief in its one sidedness and lack of transparency.

Yes, I agree.

This is my point, during the period Assange was essentially free to roam around London the US could have applied for extradition. This didn't happen despite the legal mechanisms being in place. That the Americans haven't pressed for it should tell you a lot, that Assange is claiming the danger of being extradited to the US is why he is opposing deportation to Sweden should tell you even more...

Well, it might. We don't know anything much about the rape allegations.

Clouding the discussion still further, of course, are the views of those in the eyes of whom Assange can do no wrong — David Icke-style conspiracy theorists in training, almost.

[Rollo]

That the Americans haven't pressed for it should tell you a lot, that Assange is claiming the danger of being extradited to the US is why he is opposing deportation to Sweden should tell you even more...

It tells me that the UK doesn't really want this mess on its doorstep. It's all much nicer if Assange is arrested in Sweden, because then the British Govt. can go about its merry way and pretend that the whole thing never happened.

I suspect that Assange wouldn't even see a court in Sweden anyway. He'd be arrested and simply dumped in Gitmo, maybe to be tortured and because Assange is an Australian citizen, the Australian Govt. would continue to say nothing about it as they had done with David Hicks.
That little message on the inside front cover of Australian passports about the Australian Govt rendering assistance to people in distress and danger is pretty well much completely useless.

[BDunnell]

It tells me that the UK doesn't really want this mess on its doorstep. It's all much nicer if Assange is arrested in Sweden, because then the British Govt. can go about its merry way and pretend that the whole thing never happened.

Not certain about that. I think it's gone too far for that to be an option any longer.

[janvanvurpa]

If anybody is interested, hereäs a link to detailed accounting of the whole mess.
Anna Ardin, Ms W, Julian Assange och Åklagarmyndigheten « Aktivarum

It's in Swedish but there are online translators...
The link provided points out that the warrant for arrest was issued by a "watch" or "duty" procecutor after getting a phone call from a cop, and the same day releae to the press broke the Grundlag ÅM --Åklagarmyndighet ---Prosecutor authority is supposed to enforce regarding protecting the identity of the accused.
Good first move: -brake the law.