BS: Assange release

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 01:36 PM

Manning supplied a lot of documents to Wikileaks while on active service (I think!) It seems, to me, to be the bigger crime. Her treatment was harsh though and gave credence to Assange's fear of trial in the US.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Helen
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 01:31 PM

To be clear, the rape allegations were in Sweden and not the UK.

Who is Julian Assange? What was he charged with and why is he now a 'free man'?

"He was accused of sexual assault in Sweden and espionage offences in the US.

"In 2010, he was arrested in the UK over the Swedish charges.

"What did Sweden charge Assange with? One count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation, one count of rape

"Assange denied the allegations, claiming they were part of a plot to discredit him and extradite him to the US — whose military secrets he'd exposed on his WikiLeaks website."

....

"Swedish authorities dropped the sexual assault charges against Assange in November 2019.

"At the time, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the corroborating evidence had weakened considerably 'due to the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question'."

I agree with gillymor. The only reason the rape charges were dropped was because Assange was avoiding facing all of the different allegations against him by hiding away in the Ecuadorian embassy, i.e. being a whimpering little mouse and not a real man who faces the consequences of his actions. He also put lives in danger and claimed to be a journalist, which he isn't, in my opinion.

Frankly, I wouldn't want him anywhere near anyone I know and I wish he was still somewhere, anywhere outside of Australia.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 01:26 PM

You'll have to look into the Bradley/Chelsea Manning part of the story to get into more of the law enforcement side of things also.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 01:07 PM

The way the US undercover services went after him, I have doubts as to the validity of the charges anyway. I am not saying he is innocent (or guilty!) just that I would not be at all surprised if it turned out that covert ops had a hand in the allegations.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 11:33 AM

The facts are that in any democratic country ,if the DPP decides not to bring the person to court they are not guilty or innocent.,that is because the DPP, thinks there is not enough evidence, that means legally he is innocent or not guilty.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 11:26 AM

Thanks SRS.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 11:06 AM

That is the law in the uk you are innocent until proved guilty,it is not naive it is factual, the director of public prosecutions is trained to assess if there is a case, that will succeed ,he knows better than you or gilly mor.
HE IS NOT A SEX OFFENDER IF A CASE IS NOT BROUGHT AGAINST HIM,THEY WILL NOT BRING A CASE AGAINST HIM BECAUSE THEY DO NOT THINK THERE IS SUFFICENT EVIDENCE ,THAT MEANS HS IS NOT GUILTY.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 10:50 AM

I was replying to Dick's "he's innocent" remark. I edited it for clarity (so you can see what I was responding to). But they won't be able to register him as a sex offender if he wasn't convicted, that is true.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 10:26 AM

SRS, I was replying to Gilly’s comment, ”And here's hoping the Aussies require him to register as a sex offender.”

Unless Australian law differs to UK law in this regard, there can be no ‘requirement’ to be registered as a sex-offender, because he has not been tried and convicted of a sex offence. Whether or not someone ‘wouldn’t want my/their daughter in his vicinity’ is a completely separate issue, and it’s the individual’s prerogative to make a choice.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 10:00 AM

he is innocent if he never been prosecuted

What a naive view of the world! How sweet. [not]

His role as a journalist was destroyed when he started releasing materials to benefit one political party over another in a way that changed history. Or do you think the world was better off after having Trump as president for four years? Trump: "I love Wikileaks!" after they leaked DNC emails (but didn't do a corresponding dump of RNC - that would have been balanced, or tried to appear so.)

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 08:48 AM

he is innocent if he never been prosecuted and never been found guilty.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: gillymor
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 08:47 AM

Just make people aware so they can make their own decisions. I certainly wouldn't want my daughter in his vincinity.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 08:36 AM

Doesn’t the legal principle of ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ still apply under US law?

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: gillymor
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 08:17 AM

He ran out the clock on that one. I just hope the Austalian press keep people informed of his history of sexual predation so that no more innocents are harmed.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 08:14 AM

Why would he gillymor? He was never tried, let alone found guilty, of any sex offences.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: gillymor
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 07:40 AM

And here's hoping the Aussies require him to register as a sex offender.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 07:05 AM

”Still, he is in Australia now and his battle seems to be over. Let's hope he, or his family, are not targeted by yet another covert op :-(“

Exactly my thoughts too, Dave. He will need to take steps to protect himself from now on, probably for the rest of his life.

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 06:50 AM

I think some of what he did may have endangered some US covert operations but some of them did need reporting! The way the US authorities went after him was far too aggressive and I understand why he did not want to be imprisoned there. Still, he is in Australia now and his battle seems to be over. Let's hope he, or his family, are not targeted by yet another covert op :-(

Subject: RE: BS: Assange release
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 04:10 AM

https://www.theguardian.com/media/julian-assange

Subject: BS: Assange release
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jun 24 - 04:09 AM

Assange release
Link Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/julian-assange
Explainer: who is Julian Assange and what are the details of his plea deal?

After five years in jail, Julian Assange is expected to plead guilty to a single charge that will allow him to walk free and return to Australia