Julian Assange: He Said, She Said - Squared

(Posted on 14/07/11)

It's only fitting that the ongoing legal debates regarding Julian Assange's extradition are unfolding with accusations between the solicitors that include comparisons of a "19th century conception of consent" along with Assange's solicitor in London calling Clare Montgomery QC, who's representing the Swedish prosecutors, "crazy". Meanwhile, Assange's solicitor, Ben Emmerson QC, says the two accusers were never coerced, never raped and that he believes the two so-called victims were plotting against his client. One victim, who's name is being withheld for obvious reasons, says she only wanted Assange to undergo a blood test to ensure he was not HIV positive. Further, Emmerson says that one victim feels as though she was forced to press charges. He points to a statement one victim made where she confided in a friend that the police railroaded her into pressing charges.

Julian Assange has become a very controversial topic of late. Between charges of rape, along with the fact he founded WikiLeaks, most people have very strong opinions, one way or the other, about the man. Today's court appearance, however, was whether or not he should be extradited back to Sweden.

The European arrest warrant states Assange "deliberately molested" the accuser in August of 2010 and say her "sexual integrity" had been violated. The hearing became quite awkward as Emmerson told the court about what was "normal" in terms of a man's anatomy as he sleeps next to one he might attracted to.

A decision isn't expected for at least several weeks. In the meantime, the legal battles continue over WikiLeaks as the U.S. prepares to decide what, if anything, it can do to protect much of the information that's yet to be released. Concerns are releases of some information could jeopardize military personnel from the U.S., as well as other countries.