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Should Julian Assange be extradited? Should Julian Assange be extradited?
Julian Assange should be extradited to the US Julian Assange should be extradited to the US
Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US
Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden
Julian Assange should not be extradited to Sweden Julian Assange should not be extradited to Sweden
Assange crossed the line between journalist and criminal Assange crossed the line between journalist and criminal
Julian Assange's intentions were not in the public's interest Julian Assange's intentions were not in the public's interest
Article 4 of the UK-US extradition treaty Article 4 of the UK-US extradition treaty
Julian Assange did not commit a crime Julian Assange did not commit a crime
Julian Assange will not face a fair trial in the US Julian Assange will not face a fair trial in the US
A court already ruled in favour of extraditing Assange A court already ruled in favour of extraditing Assange
Failure to extradite Assange endorses rape culture Failure to extradite Assange endorses rape culture
The charges against Julian Assange were dropped The charges against Julian Assange were dropped
Julian Assange was set up Julian Assange was set up
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Should Julian Assange be extradited?
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Julian Assange should not be extradited to Sweden

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The charges against Julian Assange were dropped

Swedish prosecutors dropped the case against Julian Assange in 2017.
Mark Stephens
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Context

In 2010, a UK court ruled that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face rape and sexual assault charges. One of the allegations has since been dropped. Prosecutors concluded that "at this point, all possibilities to conduct the investigation are exhausted."[1] The statute of limitations expired on the other sexual assault allegation.[2]

The Argument

The cases against him in Sweden have been dropped or expired under Sweden's statute of limitations laws. [3] Therefore, the original extradition request no longer applies. In order for him to be extradited, Swedish authorities would have to reopen the case and reissue an extradition request. Even if they did this, given the request would have come after the US indictment, the US cases would likely take precedent.

Counter arguments

The charges were only dropped on a technicality because prosecutors were unable to formally notify him of the criminal allegations against him. It was not because the victim changed her mind, or because the prosecution did not find the claims credible. As a result, when announcing the decision to drop the case in 2017, the Swedish Director of Public Prosecutions Marianne Ny deliberately reminded the public that she would be able to reopen the case as soon as Assange " makes himself available."[1] Now he has left the embassy and is in custody in Britain, the Swedish authorities could very easily notify him of the allegations against him. They have already received a request to reopen the case and will likely do so.[4] The Swedish case was opened before the US case. Therefore, it should take precedent should Swedish prosecutors decide to reopen it.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Assange's case was dropped in Sweden. [P2] Therefore, he has no charges to face in Sweden. [P3] Therefore, he should not be extradited to Sweden.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] It was dropped on a technicality. It will likely be reopened. [Rejecting P2] There are still credible allegations against him that he should face. [Rejecting P3] Therefore, he should be extradited to Sweden.

References

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/19/swedish-prosecutors-drop-julian-assange-investigation
  2. https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/4/12/18306901/julian-assange-arrest-wikileaks-rape-sweden-embassy
  3. http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/julian-assange-arrested.html
  4. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/04/12/julian-assange-arrest-extradition/3445061002/
This page was last edited on Monday, 20 Jan 2020 at 11:41 UTC

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