August 25, 2010 - A warrant issued to WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, in Sweden on alleged sex crimes was revoked Tuesday.
Rumors that the Pentagon or CIA were somehow involved in the sex crime accusations against Assange are “complete nonsense,” the attorney for the alleged victims said Tuesday.
Assange is claiming the government is conspiring against him because of the tens of thousands of sensitive, confidential Afghanistan war documents Assange released last month.
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According to the government, releasing those documents has put both Americans and Afghans at risk of being killed for having worked to help the U.S.
The two women alleging they were sexually violated by Assange are represented by attorney Claes Borgstron of the Swedish law firm Borgstrom and Bostrom. Borgstrom said the two women he represents have nothing to do with any kind of conspiracy.
"What I can say is that those rumors that the Pentagon or the CIA are supposed to be involved lack all connection with reality," Borgstrom said from Stockholm, Sweden.
The women "have been subjected to sexual crimes, and the added pressure of the intense worldwide media interest has been very hard on them," he added.
The warrant issued Friday for Assange listed charges of rape and molestation. It was revoked less than a day later by Chief Prosecutor Eva Finne.
Finne said Monday she had not yet spoken to Assange.
According to Assange’s lawyer, Leif Silbersky, his client strongly denies all of the accusations.
"His view is that he has not done anything that is morally and legally wrong," Silbersky said.
Silbersky said the identity of a suspect should not have been confirmed or denied before finding out all the facts in the case. She also said his [Assange]’s identity should not have been released to media. “That, to me, almost constitutes a serious misconduct,” Silbersky said.
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The posting of 76,000 U.S. documents related to the war in Afghanistan by Assange on his WikiLeaks website triggered controversy. Assange says he plans to release some 15,000 more documents soon.
Assange told the Arab-language television network Al-Jazeera on Sunday that the sexual crimes allegations are “clearly a smear campaign.”
According to CNN Assange told the Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet in a story Sunday that he doesn't know who was behind it, "but we have been warned that, for example, the Pentagon is planning on using dirty tricks to destroy our work."
When asked Monday whether the Department of Defense had any involvement in the charges or the allegations, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman replied, "No, that's ridiculous." Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd also denied that the department had any involvement in the situation.
The two alleged victims are about 25 and 35 years old. No more details could be released for fear they’ll be identified.
Borgstrom said the two Swedish women’s experiences with Assange were completely independent of each other, and that they were not friends from before.
Borgstrom says Assange's actions should be classified as at least sexual molestation.
"I understand why the prosecutor judged one incident as rape. My judgment is that the two women have been subjected to at least sexual molestation," he said, adding that there are still many questions about the incidents that need to be answered.
Assange told Aftonbladet that he had never, "either in Sweden nor in any other country, had sex with anyone in a way that was not based on both sides being completely voluntary."
Borgstrom also criticized the prosecutor for not questioning Assange immediately in the case.
"It is obvious that he is a suspect of sex crimes, and if he leaves the country, then we may never be able to hear his explanation," the attorney explained.
According to a statement posted Monday on the Sweden Prosecution Authorities’ website, there was fear that Assange might leave the country, which is what provoked the warrant last week.
The prosecutor "decided that Julian Assange was to be arrested," based on information that police gave her over the phone about the allegations -- a typical procedure, authorities said.
"The prosecutor was also made aware that the individual concerned was a foreign national and that he was about to leave the country," the chronology said. One reason for issuing the warrant was "that there was a risk that he would have time to leave the country before authorities had time to interrogate him. There was also a risk that he could have interfered with the investigation."
The investigation into the women’s allegations is ongoing.
Karin Rosander, spokeswoman for the prosecution authority, said Monday that if Assange is convicted of molestation, he could face up to a year in jail. Prosecutors may also request in court that he be held in jail while awaiting trial.
Finne has "still not decided what other potential offenses [Assange] may be suspected of in the incident previously labeled rape," the prosecution authority's statement said. "She also has not yet decided on the suspected molestation. The investigation is still ongoing and the suspicions against Assange are still there."
Rosander earlier had said he would not face jail time if convicted of molestation but corrected that Monday.
Related:
President Obama condemns WikiLeaks' of secret raw Afghanistan war documents
Pentagon damage control: Will WikiLeaks be shut down again for leaking documents? Are lives at risk?
Over 90,000 Afghanistan war documents leaked online condemned (download data)
Source:
CNN
Comments
Wikileaks is BS and this is CYA by the CIA.
They already deleted the link to read THE WHOLE STORY,, guess i snoozed.. so i loosed?? its all 'loose change' anyway
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