Sweden, Assange and the USA

It is almost a certainty that the editor of WikiLeaks will be turned over to the United States if he is extradited to Sweden.

Sweden has requested the extradition of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange from the United Kingdom, and legal proceedings are expected to commence at the start of the new year. Due to the extraordinary behaviour of the prosecutor in charge of the case, questions have been raised about the prospects of Assange receiving impartial justice in Sweden.

Far more serious is the risk that he might in turn be extradited from Sweden to the United States, where he has been the target of hysterical accusations and violent threats in a lynch-mob atmosphere that has been stirred up by the government, mass media and political demagogues.

Thus, a key issue to be considered in the U.K. extradition process is whether or not Mr Assange’s civil and legal rights will be ensured if, as seems certain, the United States requests/demands his extradition from Sweden in the event he is returned to that country. >>