On The Arrest Of Julian Assange

[poliphilo]

When you set out to make enemies of the governments of the world you would be well advised to live like a monk.

Comments

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

It's a decent article, except Hari claims that Assange is accused of rape -- he isn't -- fails to note that the same charges were previously dismissed by a magistrate -- and only revived when he threatened to leak information about Bank of America -- and completely ignores Assange's own published rationale for what he is doing.

Seems strange to find a journalist failing to discount non-existent charges, at least ouside of the yellow press.

[chiller.livejournal.com]

Determining precisely what Assange has been accused of is difficult, because Swedish law keeps the details of the charges quiet to preserve the privacy of the accuser, but as far as I have been able to determine thus far, the charges levelled against Assange are, roughly:
1) that he had sex with "woman A" without a condom, with a woman who had expressly stated that she would have sex with him if he wore one;
2) That he used his body weight to hold down "woman A" in order to achieve this;
3) That he had sex with "woman B" without a condom and commenced while she was asleep, thereby giving her no opportunity to consent.

This is being reported in a number of different ways, depending on the leanings of the publication in question. The Daily Mail, for instance, has it that "woman B" (with whom Assange was staying), merely accompanied "woman A" to the police to help her file her report, and was subsequently almost accidentally recorded as a victim herself after chatting with an officer. Although they then muddy the waters further by pointing out that "woman B" is a radical feminist (the implication is that she was rubbing her hands together with delight at being able to press a sex charge against a man).

Elsewhere the tenor varies from "what sex crimes? Clearly these have been made up", to Hari, who, I think, occupies a reasonable middle ground where both truths (Assange may be a rapist / Assange is definitely a journalistic force for change); may coexist, with neither set of facts undermining the other.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Except of course that you still pretend it's okay to say Assange is accused of raping someone, when in fact no one is accusing him of raping anyone. You did it and Hari did it and by your own admission it's a lie, plain and simple.

[chiller.livejournal.com]

Under Swedish law, he is accused of rape.

You may not like it, but I'm afraid nobody cares about that.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Strangely, the Swedes actually know what rape is, they have a legal definition for it and everything. What Assange is accused of is not rape.

Do make an effort to inform yourself properly before gassing off like this. It will save you no end of embarrassment.

[chiller.livejournal.com]

Hmm, let's see: I am exactly as embarrassed as every news and media organ in the UK including the BBC, since they're all referring to the charges he faces as rape charges.

If widdums doesn't like women bandying about the word "rape" - it is after all, a very ugly and difficult word that men find painful - that's a real pity, but I'm afraid a man sticking his penis into a woman in a way she has not consented to is rape, both in law and in the understanding of every decent person of the word "rape", and you need to get over it.

Let me be crystal clear: I am not suggesting that Julian Assange commited rape. He has not yet been tried for it and I have no opinion one way or the other. I want to be very plain about that.

But what we do know is that the accusation he faces is one of rape, under Swedish law.