Perhaps I should be joining the tin-foil hat brigade but these allegations have always seemed conveniently timed.
There are few better ways to damage someone's credibility than alleging rape, even if the allegations don't hold water.
There are few better ways to damage someone's credibility than alleging rape, even if the allegations don't hold water.
As long as we're on the tin-foil hat path, being dragged to Sweden would place him into custody there. (I know, he's wanted 'for questioning' - that's what the Red Notice is based on). That would give the USA (which has an extradition treaty with Sweden) plenty of time to build a legal case against him without worrying about him disappearing or pulling more PR stunts.
As long as the USA doesn't charge him with something that is punishable with the death penalty (most EU countries won't extradite suspects that would face that), it's into the bureaucratic legal mill for him.
Most alleged rapists don't constantly relocate around the world like Assange. People who don't hop from country to country don't end up on Interpol watchlists because generally, the country that wants to take them into custody just directly negotiates with the country they're residing in.
I'm not saying Assange moves around a lot to avoid the Swedish justice system--the idea that he does it for the interests of Wikileaks is credible enough--but regardless of his motivation for moving around from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, that's the kind of behavior that elevates a matter from a simple extradition matter to an international watchlist.
I have no idea whether he's guilty, but he should certainly return to Sweden to stand trial.
He hasn't been charged with anything.
If you're innocent, there's no moral obligation to stand trial. The onus rests with the accusers to make the case. It may or may not be in the accused's best interest to offer a defense, but I fail to see how he's bound merely by the accusation.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/08/20108211530...
The converse is true also. Those that support Wikileaks appear to believe that it is impossible for Mr Assange to have committed any crime and that the grievous nature of the accusations means that it's all a conspiracy.
If the accused were guilty the best thing to do would be to make a big leak (I gather they hold information and don't leak it immediately, a power play for sure) immediately before the accusations became widespread or before being arrested at the latest - that way the support of those without objectivity on your own side can be won.
In short, lack of objectivity is a two way street.