Isn't It Ironic: Assange Aghast That Government Would Leak Sensitive, Damaging Information About His Dealings

Oh dear.

In a move that surprised many of Mr Assange's closest supporters on Saturday, The Guardian newspaper published previously unseen police documents that accused Mr Assange in graphic detail of sexually assaulting two Swedish women. One witness is said to have stated: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."

Bjorn Hurtig, Mr Assange's Swedish lawyer, said he would lodge a formal complaint to the authorities and ask them to investigate how such sensitive police material leaked into the public domain. "It is with great concern that I hear about this because it puts Julian and his defence in a bad position," he told a colleague.

"I do not like the idea that Julian may be forced into a trial in the media.["]

The leaked information makes this seem less like "sex by surprise" and closer to rape, or even, as Whoopi Goldberg might say, rape-rape.

Four acts of sexual assault were outlined in the hearings against Assange:

That Assange "unlawfully coerced" Miss A by using his body weight to hold her down in a sexual manner.

That he "sexually molested" Miss A by having sex with her without a condom when it was her "express wish" one should be used.

That he "deliberately molested" Miss A "in a way designed to violate her sexual integrity".

That he had sex with a second woman, Miss W, without a condom while she was asleep.

Both Miss A and Miss W say that originally, they did not report him to the police for him to be arrested but only to require him to have an STD test.

Click the link to read on. It appears that rape is in fact being alleged, although the prosecutors seem to be pressing for this lesser charge of "sex by surprise" as some sort of compromise.

As to why the women didn't seek his outright arrest initially --Sweden seems to have a bona-fide rape problem. Not only does it occur at high rates there, but it's largely unprosecuted. It could be that Swedish women have internalized that rape is just something that happens sometimes, and there's no reason to seek police action most of the time over it.

posted by Ace at 01:41 PM

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