(Image source: The Guardian)


BY JING ZHAO

ANCHOR ALLIE SPILLYARDS

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is back in British court- fighting extradition to Sweden, where he’s wanted for questioning on several sexual assault accusations.

Here’s the Times of India.
 
“Julian Assange will launch a fresh appeal in the London High Court against attempts to extradite him to Sweden to face assault charges. The WikiLeaks founder is wanted in Sweden over charges of sexual assault relating to incidents during a trip to Stockholm in August 2010.”

But many skeptics doubt this is purely about those“sexual assault” suspicions. As euronews reports, those critics note, the timing of the accusations is hard to ignore.

“Assange was arrested in December at the same time his whistle-blowing website began publishing more than a quarter of a million secret US diplomatic cables.”

Assange’s supporters claim Sweden is trying to appease the U.S. -- which has been stung by WikiLeaks time and time again.  Russia Today has that argument.

“He and his supporters have always suggested that the prosecution on sex charges is politically motivated, and that the end goal of this is that Sweden will eventually send him to the US -- where of course a grand jury is currently investigating the work of WikiLeaks.”

Swedish authorities, however, have denied that claim. To prepare for his appeal, Assange changed his legal team. The Guardian reports the new team has a new strategy -- make keep Assange keep his mouth shut.

“The new approach demanded he fight his natural instinct to speak out, so he sealed his lips as he fought through a phalanx of photographers outside the Royal Courts of Justice.”

The new team’s strategy also focuses less on the threat of extradition to the U.S. Instead, they argue -- Assange’s actions in Sweden wouldn’t count as criminal actions in the UK. The Independent explains.

“‘Julian Assange's sexual behaviour was ‘disrespectful, discourteous and pushing the boundaries’ -- but not rape’, the WikiLeaks founder's legal team insists, … ‘the sexual activities that occurred had taken place with consent and, unlike in Sweden, could not be criminalised in the English jurisdiction...’”

Assange says if he loses this extradition appeal, he will take his case to the UK Supreme Court-- and if he has to-- the European Court of Human Rights.