THE lawyer for Julian Assange argued yesterday the embattled WikiLeaks founder would face a secret trial that would violate international standards of fairness if sent to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault.
The leader of the secret-spilling website is fighting extradition in part because Swedish rape trials are customarily held in secret, Geoffrey Robertson said at the start of a two- day extradition hearing. Closed-door hearings would be "a flagrant denial of justice … blatantly unfair, not only by British standards but by European standards and indeed by international standards", he said.
Mr Assange is accused of sexual misconduct by two women he met during a visit to Stockholm last year. Mr Assange denies wrongdoing.
Defence lawyers argue he should not be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime, because of flaws in the Swedish prosecutors’ case — and because a ticket to Sweden could land him in Guantanamo Bay or on US death row.
The British lawyer representing Sweden, Clare Montgomery, opened by dismissing several key planks of the defence. She said Marianne Ny, the Swedish prosecutor who is seeking his extradition, did have the power to request the arrest warrant, dismissing defence claims that she is not authorised to do so. She said the rape allegation was an extraditable offence even under Sweden’s broad definition of the crime.
Mr Assange’s lawyers say he cannot be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime in Sweden and is wanted only for questioning — and that the allegation is not rape as understood under European and English law. Mr Robertson said Mr Assange faced an allegation known in Swedish as "minor rape". "That is a contradiction in terms," he said.
Mr Robertson said Mr Assange had had consensual sex with his two accusers. Ms Montgomery contested this, saying "the Swedish offence of rape contains the core element of rape … the deliberate violation of a woman’s sexual integrity through penetration".
US officials are trying to build a criminal case against WikiLeaks, which has angered Washington by publishing a trove of leaked diplomatic cables and military files. Mr Assange’s lawyers say the Swedish prosecution is linked to the leaks and is politically motivated.
Preliminary defence arguments released by Mr Assange’s legal team claim "there is a real risk that, if extradited to Sweden, the US will seek his extradition and/or illegal rendition to the US, where there will be a real risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere".
Many legal experts say the Guantanamo claims are fanciful, and Sweden strongly denies coming under American pressure.
Mr Assange is accused of sexual molestation and unlawful coercion against the second woman. The leaked documents show she accuses him of deliberately damaging a condom during consensual sex, which he denies. Sapa-AP
If extradited to Sweden, the US will seek his extradition, where there will be a risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay
