The pursuit of Assange may be politically motivated but don’t dismiss the charges so quickly.
The arrest of the WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange has prompted two distinct reactions. Some, such as the Telegraph’s Will Heaven, point out that the rape charges are entirely unrelated to the release of the US embassy cables. Others, such as a group that describes itself as “Justice for Assange“, echo his lawyer Mark Stephens’s claim that his client is the victim of an international “smear campaign”.
In fact, these two positions are not as incompatible as they appear. There is no doubt that Assange’s opponents have exploited the allegations against him for political gain. The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, did little to dispel this suspicion when he said of the arrest: “I hadn’t heard that, but that sounds like good news to me.”
It is also doubtful that Sweden would have pursued an average alleged rapist with such persistence. As Stephens rightly points out: “It is highly irregular and unusual for the Swedish authorities to issue [an Interpol] red notice in the teeth of the undisputed fact that Mr Assange has agreed to meet voluntarily to answer the prosecutor’s questions.”
Yet all of the above has no bearing on the truth or otherwise of the rape allegations. For all their protestations, none of Assange’s acolytes knows what happened on the night of 14 August in Stockholm. Stephens has summed up the issue as a “dispute over consensual but unprotected sex”. For good measure, Claes Borgstrom, who represents both of Assange’s accusers, has argued: “This is a redress for my clients, I have to say, because they have been dragged through the mud on the internet, for having made things up or intending to frame Assange . . . There is not an ounce of truth in all this about Pentagon, or the CIA, or smear campaigns, nothing like it.”
There is now no reason why the allegations should not be put before a court of law. Should the charges be trumped up, as Assange’s lawyers suggest, they will not bear legal scrutiny. What does he have to fear? He should take this opportunity to clear his name.
UPDATE: Sweden does not, as I incorrectly suggested, have a jury system. The line in question has been amended.
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