After 2 Years of Confinement, Will Sweden Resolve Assange’s Case? Swedish Foreign Minister Won’t Say | Democracy Now!
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt refuses to address questions from
Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman about the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange, who is wanted for questioning in Sweden on allegations of
sexual offenses. Assange's attorneys recently asked the Swedish
government to withdraw a warrant that has kept him confined in Ecuador’s
London Embassy for two years. Assange has voiced fears he would
ultimately be sent for prosecution in the United States if he were to
return to Sweden. Assange’s attorneys say the warrant should be lifted
because it cannot be enforced while Assange is in the embassy and
Swedish prosecutors refuse to question him in London. Although Assange
faces a warrant for questioning, he has not been formally charged.
Fifty-nine international organizations have submitted reports to the
United Nations challenging Sweden’s treatment of Assange. Speaking at
the Almedalen political festival in Visby, Bildt refuses to address the
case directly, calling it an issue for the Swedish judicial system, not
its political one. We get reaction to Bildt’s comments from Assange
legal adviser Jen Robinson, who also discusses the parallels between
Assange and National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden. "We
are now seeing a trend of whistleblowers, publishers, journalists having
to seek asylum and refuge in countries around the world because of
their concern about prosecution in the United States," Robinson says.
