 |
 |
||||||
 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
WikiLeaks' Julian Assange On the Lam by John M. Curtis Copyright
December 1, 2010 Running from the the law, Australian-born 39-year-old WikiLeaks’ creator and computer hacker Julian Assange finds himself fleeing from justice, curiously timed to his Nov. 28 release of thousands of pages of classified U.S. documents. Giving the State Department a big fat black eye, Assange released numerous cables making disparaging remarks about foreign leaders and governments. When Assange went public with the embarrassing e-mails and correspondences, Swedish Prosecutor Marianne Ny announced Nov. 18 Assange’s Interpol arrest warrant for unspecified charges in Sweden for rape, sexual assault, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion in connection with a alleged non-consensual sexual encounter. Swedish prosecutors offered no proof, or even credibility, citing no victims or witnesses to the allegations calling for Assange’s immediate arrest. Condemning Assange’s whistleblowing activities, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for Assange's arrest for violating U.S. privacy laws. While not alleging hacking or stealing classified documents, Hillary called Assange’s worldwide posting on WikiLeaks an “attack on the world,” showing, if nothing else, her dog in the fight. Recent WikiLeaks' cables implicate Hillary in ordering U.S. diplomats to spy on their foreign counterparts, urging diplomats and State Dept. personnel to collect DNA samples, iris scans and fingerprints without notice. Assange called on Hillary, if the allegations prove true, to resign. Assange, who hasn’t been heard or seen since Nov. 5, claims he posted the classified documents to keep the State Department honest, not, as some have alleged, to extort money from the U.S. government. Ny’s timing in announcing the Interpol warrant can’t pass unnoticed. Assange’s London-based attorney Mark Stephens blasted Ny for not following European Union protocol giving defendants advanced notice of pending charges. Ny showed “such casual disregard” for her obligations under the EU’s rules for prosecuting criminal conduct. “Given that the Sweden is a civilized society, I am reluctantly forced to conclude that this is a persecution not a prosecution,” said Stephens, suggesting that Assange is now subject to malicious prosecution stemming from his WikiLeaks’ activity. Former Nixon-era 79-year-old whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, that leaked the Pentagon Papers, top-secret military documents about Vietnam, hailed Assange as a true patriot, despite recent calls for his head. “I see nothing unusual, or anything that breaches the rules in the procession of this case,” said Ny, denying that deviated from the EU’s prosecution protocol. While Ny sees nothing wrong with going after Assange for such serious allegations, she doesn’t question the timing to the Nov. 28 WikiLeaks’ bombshell. Forcing Assange incognito, there’s now an international manhunt not for terrorism or drug-trafficking but for Internet whistleblowing. Calling charges against Assange “a post-facto dispute over consensual but unprotected sex,” Swedish prosecutors can’t decide whether to call the allegations “rape.” Whether in the U.S. or Europe, “unprotected” sex is not a crime, nor is consensual sex that goes awry. Sweden’s High Court is currently reviewing the evidence to determine the appropriate charges and action. Ambiguous sexual allegations can be made on anyone, turning otherwise law-abiding citizens into suspected criminals. Filing charges with Interpol seem extreme considering the unproven allegations. Clinton promised the U.S would take “aggressive step to hold responsible those who stole this information,” despite knowing that Assange only passed the info along reportedly from former Army Intelligence Officer Bradley Manning, already in U.S. custody. While it’s tempting to kill the messenger, Assange only posted material given to him by Manning. U.S. officials apparently refused to play ball with Assange before releasing the docs Nov. 28. No one knows what, if anything, Assange wanted in exchange for keeping the 251,287 cables off the Internet. Assange’s attorney wants to know whether Clinton had anything to do with Sweden’s actions to file charges against Assange with Interpol. Swedish authorities haven’t yet made a compelling case against the 39-year-old former computer hacker. Clinton indicated that WikiLeaks won’t undermine U.S. foreign policy. When Interpol’s manhunt finally turns up Assange, some will question why they couldn’t get the job done with Osama bin Laden and other international terrorists. WikiLeaks, that helped break Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2004 with New York Times’ Seymour Hirsch, has been under government surveillance since causing the embarrassment. “If it can be shown that that she [Hillary] was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations,” said Assange, then she should resign. Hillary’s forceful involvement in going after Assange indicates that she’s got an ax to grind. White House officials said Assange’s statements “are both ridiculous and absurd,” denying that the Secretary of State ordered her employees to spy on foreign diplomats. Going after Assange like he’s on the FBI’s Most Wanted list raises some disturbing questions. About the Author John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
|
|||||||
 |
|||||||
|
Home || Articles || Books || The Teflon Report || Reactions || About Discobolos This site
is hosted by ©1999-2012
Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc. |
