Aug 12, 2015

Sweden interviews 44 in London, but not Assange

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange gestures as he prepares to speak from the balcony of Ecuador's embassy, where he is taking refuge in London August 19, 2012. Assange used the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy on Sunday to berate the United States for threatening freedom of expression and called on President Barack Obama to end what he called a witch-hunt against his whistle-blowing website. Speaking from within the London mission to avoid arrest by British police who want to extradite him to Sweden for questioning over rape allegations, Assange said the United States was fighting a war against outlets like WikiLeaks. REUTERS/Chris Helgren (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW MEDIA TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) WIKILEAKS-ASSANGE/

Photo Chris Helgren/Reuters

by Systematic

[…] A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Hazel Press news organization has revealed that Sweden has granted 44 requests to interview witnesses or suspects in the UK since 2010, the Press Association reports. This has led supporters of the WikiLeaks founder to claim that Assange has been “singled out,” as he has also agreed to be interviewed by Swedish prosecutors inside the embassy concerning sex allegations in the Scandinavian country.

A member of Assange’s legal team, Jen Robinson, says that a number of important questions have been raised, adding that “Julian hasn’t been charged, yet he is being punished.”

“First, they refused to take his testimony while he remained in Sweden. Then they refused to hear it in the UK, saying it was illegal to come here. Five years later, after being rebuked by their own courts, they say they’ll consider it,” she told the Press Association. […]

Read in full Double standards? Sweden interviews 44 in London, but not Assange at RT News