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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 be extradited to Sweden

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Failure to extradite Assange endorses rape culture

Failure to allow a full investigation to take place into the credible rape allegations against Assange would be an affront to victims of rape everywhere.
Sarah Green
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Context

The #MeToo movement represented a leap forward for rape victims across the globe. It was a watershed moment which showed victims of sexual violence that Western society would take their credible claims seriously no matter who they were made against. It demonstrated a public willingness to hold powerful men to account for their actions and an end to the culture of silence surrounding rape and sexual assault.

The Argument

If the UK does not extradite Assange to Sweden to face the credible allegations against him, it would send a strong message to other survivors of rape. It would represent a shift back to the pre-MeToo era when powerful men could bully and belittle accusors to escape justice. This would be a direct endorsement of rape culture. It must not be allowed to happen, not just for the sake of the two victims in Sweden, but for the sake of rape survivors everywhere.[1]

Counter arguments

Assange argues that several parts of the two alleged victims' stories are not consistent with women that have been subject to sexual assault. Both victims allegedly gave their consent to sex with a condom. Miss Ardin continued to share a bed with Assange for several days after the rape and spoke highly of him to her friends. Miss W allegedly shared text messages with a friend several days after the alleged encounter in which she and her friend joked about making financial profit from her encounter with Assange. Assange argues that these facts demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against him. He believes the case against him is political in nature. Therefore, he should not be extradited to face these clearly fictitious claims.[2]

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Assange faces credible accusations of rape. [P2] If the UK does not extradite him, he will not face those allegations. [P3] This would send a dangerous message to other rape survivors.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The allegations are not credible but politically motivated.

References

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/apr/13/women-groups-say-extradite-julian-assange-to-sweden
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/17/julian-assange-sweden
This page was last edited on Monday, 20 Apr 2020 at 07:02 UTC

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