Focus on Assange

Published on 23/08/2012 02:42

The entire case against Julian Assange and the astonishing threats from William Hague about storming the Ecuadorian embassy need to be looked at more closely.

One must ask whether Mr Hague would be so aggressive if Mr Assange was in the Chinese or Russian embassy.

In addition, the so-called “charges” of rape levelled against him are not in fact charges. The Swedish police require him to respond to various allegations, which may ultimately be unjustified and unsupportable.

This would require his extradition to Sweden to supply these answers and Mr Assange does not wish to do so voluntarily, although he has offered to meet Swedish police in this country, because it is almost certain that he would be extradited to America to face charges relating to the highly embarrassing Wikileaks fiasco, and this is at the heart of the whole sorry affair.

While rape is a heinous, barbaric and unjustifiable offence, what is happening perhaps demonstrates the natural revulsion that such charges invoke may be a smoke screen to divert attention from the real issues.

The UK, which already is party to a heavily biased extradition treaty with the US, is apparently willing to jump through hoops to satisfy the petulant whims of Washington and use any convenient pretext to do so.

Brian Allan

Keith Street

Kincardine-on-Forth