> There is a lot of misinformation about the case out there.
Care to share ?
Care to share ?
This is the most clear-headed piece I've seen about the charges: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B669H20101207
And on the smearing of the alleged victims: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/12/07/julia...
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/12/02/when-it-comes-to-assange...
(Assanges .au lawyer, obviously biased).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-rape-a...
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/12/09/rundle-r-pe-case-complai...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1307137/Su...
He isn't being charged with this because it doesn't exist:
First things first: According to the Swedish criminal code, there is no "broken condom law," nor is there a law against having consensual unprotected sex. (Unlike the U.S., anything not listed in the code could still be considered a crime, but only by "special legislation.") In the Swedish warrant for Assange's arrest, both of his accusers said that they had separate consensual sexual encounters with Assange that became nonconsensual after he refused to use a condom or replace a broken one.
...
Prior to the complaint, rumors were swirling that Assange was being charged not with rape but an obscure Swedish law against "sex by surprise," which is likewise nowhere to be found in Sweden's criminal code.
Perhaps why this misinformation is being spread so easily:
Swedish blogger Linea at Feminism and Tea attributes the confusion to a mix-up over a colloquialism for rape: "Sex by surprise" or överraskningssex as it would be translated in Swedish is slang for rape. It is a term that is used when speaking about rape, but jokingly, or keeping it light, a word that brings with it positive connotations, which makes the word inappropriate in itself, but it is nevertheless synonymous with rape.
Source: "STDs, Broken Condoms, and ‘Sex by Surprise’: A Primer on the Charges Against Assange" http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/12/crayfish_parties_and_br...
Typically a rape victim does not throw a party in honor of their attackers, nor do they tweet about them as 'the coolest people in the world'.
Another bothering item is that when you sleep with people that are known to 'get around' (as in does not have a fixed place to stay) you have to wonder if you're successful at hooking up with them on the first night if you're the only one they've done that with (if someone is 'easy' you're 'easy' too) and that increases the risks of STDs regardless. Condoms or not, this is risky behavior.
Last but not least, the risk of STD transmission runs both ways and it is possible to have yourself tested as well.
I hope that we can count on Sweden to pursue every case of injustice against Swedish nationals this vigorously from now on, it would be nice to see how this case stacks up in terms of evidence and circumstances compared with other cases. If this is typical of the Swedish prosecutors then more power to them for being thorough, if it is not then the chances that there are more things here than meet the eye will go up.
A research project last year funded by the European Commission found that Sweden leads Europe in reports of rape, with 46.5 per every 100,000 citizens, compared with 36 in No. 2 Iceland and 26 in England and Wales. At the same time, Sweden’s 10 percent conviction rate for rape is among Europe's lowest.
So it would seem like no, the prosecutors haven't always been so vigorous. Sweden certainly seems to have it's issues with punishing sexual assault, but I'm not sure if we should really let things like that influence our judgement of this case until all the facts are known.
The party was organized, and that tweet went out before the alleged incidents: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40551118/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in...
Aug. 14: . . . The two go out for dinner, return to the apartment and have sex during which a condom breaks.
Aug. 15: . . . Miss A hosts a party for Assange at her home, afterward reportedly tweeting this to friends: "Sitting outside ... nearly freezing, with the world’s coolest people. It’s pretty amazing!"
Clearly the party happened after the first incident, and so did the tweet.
No, according to your own link (and the facts), it went out a day and some hours (it was at 2 AM on the 16th) after she alleged that "Assange used his body weight to hold her down during sex".