Sweden Defends Actions, Insists Assange Not Suspected of Rape

Assange Was Warned About 'Dirty Tricks' Ahead of Charges

by Jason Ditz, August 22, 2010

The Swedish government today defended its actions in the bizarre Julian Assange “rape” case, insisting that there was nothing strange about issuing an arrest warrant against him for rape and then canceling that warrant almost immediately thereafter.

A spokeswoman for Sweden’s Prosecution Authority said that it was “typical” and that the prosecutor available on Friday night issued the warrant but was over-ruled by a higher ranked prosecutor on Saturday morning.

Assange was never actually arrested on the charges, and the Swedish government insists that they don’t actually suspect him of having raped anyone. Assange insisted that the charges were “deeply distrurbing.”

But while the WikiLeaks founder could not rule out Pentagon involvement, he says he has no idea exactly where these charges are coming from. He insisted that he had been warned that the Pentagon would try to use “sexual scandals” against him, however.

Despite the dropping of the charge almost immediately the brief accusation was enough to cause an enormous stir. The speculation that the Pentagon or the CIA may have been involved in the allegations seems to be the primary basis of the story at this point, but what effect it has on Assange in the long term remains to be seen.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz