Assange Lawyer: Swedish Prosecution Irregular
LONDON - Julian Assange's lawyer and a Swedish legal expert on Tuesday accused Swedish prosecutors irregularities and illegality in the way they built a sex crimes case against the WikiLeaks founder.
Assange was in a London courtroom for a second day Tuesday, fighting extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over claims of rape and sexual molestation made by two Swedish women. His lawyers argue that the global publicity surrounding the case and the Swedish custom of hearing rape cases behind closed doors mean he would not get a fair trial.
Assange has denied the rape and sexual molestation claims and his lawyers say prosecutors have rebuffed his offer to be questioned from London about the allegations.
Assange's Swedish lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, told the court Tuesday that said an initial prosecutor "acted against the laws of confidentiality, telling one of our tabloid newspapers that Julian was suspected of rape." He said prosecutors and police had also leaked details of the case to the media.
Geoffrey Robertson, one of Assange's British lawyers, told the extradition hearing on Monday that Sweden's closed-door rape hearings would be "a flagrant denial of justice."
Sven-Erik Alhem, a former chief prosecutor in Sweden appearing as a defense witness, said Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny "should have made sure Assange was able to give his version of events in detail" before issuing an international arrest warrant. Alhem also said it was "extraordinary" that a prosecutor had leaked Assange's name to the media.
But the British lawyer representing Sweden, Clare Montgomery, said Ny had issued an arrest warrant for Assange only after making repeated unsuccessful attempts to arrange an interview with him.
In a court document from Ny read aloud by Montgomery, Ny said "it must have been crystal clear to Julian Assange ... that we were extremely anxious to interview him."
But Ny said an interview could not be set up and at one point his lawyer Hurtig was unable to contact him for several days.
"We consider Julian Assange is an obvious flight risk and it cannot be considered an overreaction to detain him," Ny said.
Assange is accused of sexually assaulting one woman and raping another by having sex with her while she was asleep during a weeklong visit to Stockholm in August. In Swedish law, sex with a person who is asleep can constitute rape.
The defense says Assange had consensual sex with his two accusers and has not committed any crime. In a written statement to court, Hurtig said "the case is one of the weakest I have ever seen in my professional career."
Assange's wide-ranging arguments against extradition range from criticism of Ny to claims that he could eventually be extradited from Sweden to the United States and even sent to the detention center at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
However, Alhem appeared to undermine the defense claim that Assange could be extradited when he said it was not possible for Assange to be sent from Sweden to the U.S. on the current European Arrest Warrant. He also said it was "completely impossible that Mr. Assange could be extradited to the United States without a complete media storm."
Alhem said, contrary to claims by Assange's lawyers, Ny does have the authority to issue an arrest warrant for the 39-year-old Australian.
Tension ran high between the legal teams, with Montgomery at one point asking Assange lawyer Mark Stephens to be quiet.
Assange sat calmly and took notes while in the dock at London's high-security Belmarsh Magistrates' Court on the second day of a two-day hearing.
The secrets-spilling website touched off an international uproar when it released classified helicopter video showing a U.S. attack that killed two Reuters journalists in Iraq. It later published tens of thousands of U.S. military documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and last fall began publishing classified U.S. diplomatic cables whose revelations angered and embarrassed the U.S. and its allies.
American officials are trying to build a criminal case against WikiLeaks. Assange's lawyers claim the Swedish prosecution is linked to the leaks and politically motivated - a claim Sweden strongly denies
Assange was arrested in London in December after Sweden issued a warrant on rape and molestation accusations. He was released on bail on condition that he live - under curfew and electronically tagged - at a supporter's country mansion in eastern England. From his house arrest, Assange has managed to conduct multiple media interviews and sign a reported $1.5 million deal for a memoir.
The extradition hearing is due to end Tuesday, but Judge Howard Riddle could take several weeks to consider his ruling - which can be appealed by either side.