Julian Assange prosecutor 'biased against men'

By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter

Marianne Ny, the public prosecutor who issued an international arrest warrant for Mr Assange on sexual assault allegations last year, is motivated by "sexual politics", one of her own colleagues claimed.

Mr Assange, 39, who denies any wrongdoing, is fighting the attempt to extradite him to Sweden, where lawyers have confirmed for the first time they intend to prosecute, him for "minor rape", which carries a maximum sentence of four years.

The Australian argues that he will not receive a fair trial in Sweden, where he is accused of assaulting two women during a visit last year.

Speaking outside court afterwards, Mr Assange claimed a “black box with rape written on it" had been put on his life, and said he looked forward to proving his innocence.

Speaking outside court after the hearing, Assange said: "For the past five-and-a-half months we have been in a condition where a black box has been applied to my life.
 
He said: "On the outside of that black box has been written the word 'rape'. That box is now, thanks to an open court process, been opened.

"I hope over the next day we will see that that box is in fact empty and has nothing to do with the words that are on the outside of it.

"We have seen that today and I would like to thank my supporters and my lawyers for continuing to help me.

"A process like this surely lets you understand who your friends are."

On the first day of a two-day extradition hearing at Belmarsh Magistrates Court in South East London, Brita Sundberg-Weitman, a former Swedish Appeal Court Judge, described the behaviour of Miss Ny as "extremely peculiar".

Giving evidence on behalf of Mr Assange’s legal team, Mrs Sundberg-Weitman said the Swedish prosecutor could have interviewed Mr Assange by telephone or via the internet video service Skype, without the need to force his return to Sweden.

She said: "Miss Ny has a rather biased view against men in the treatment of sexual offence cases. They seem to take it for granted that everyone under prosecution is guilty. I honestly can’t understand her attitude. It looks malicious … I think maybe she wants to make him suffer.”

The former judge, who is now an associate professor of Law at Stockholm, University, added that Miss Ny was "involved in sexual politics" which was "very much" a political issue in Sweden.

Mr Assange’s barrister, Geoffrey Robertson QC also argued that he will be denied a fair trial in Sweden because rape cases are heard "in secret" behind closed doors.

Mr Robertson added that a trial in Sweden would be "a flagrant denial of justice" because even if he was acquitted "the stigma will remain" because the public would not know what had happened in court.

The WikiLeaks founder arrived at the court to be greeted by dozens of television cameras from all over the world. Media interest in the case is so intense that the Magistrates Court hearing was transferred from a court in Westminster, where it would have normally have been held, to a much larger courtroom to accommodate more than 80 journalists.

Celebrity supporters including Jemima Khan, Tony Benn and Bianca Jagger, who believe Mr Assange is being pursued for political reasons following the publication of thousands of leaked US Embassy cables by WikiLeaks, were among those in the public gallery.

For the first time, the Swedes have made it clear that they intend to indict Mr Assange on a charge of rape if he is extradited.

Until now, Miss Nye has consistently said Mr Assange is only wanted for questioning over the allegations that he sexually assaulted two women last year.

The change of stance is significant because a key plank of Mr Assange’s argument had been that Sweden was not legally entitled to extradite him if he was only wanted for questioning.

Claire Montgomery QC, outlining the case for the Swedish Public Prosecutor, told Judge Howard Riddle the Chief Magistrate for Westminster that the purpose of the extradition request was clear.

"There is no room for any doubt as to the purpose of the warrant, namely that it is for the purposes of prosecution," she said.

"Mr Assange will be interrogated because that is a necessary next step in the Swedish process. It does not undermine the stated purpose that his presence in Sweden is for the purposes of prosecution."

Two women, referred to in court as Miss A and Miss W, alleged that Mr Assange sexually assaulted them on separate occasions while he was in Sweden to give a public lecture last summer.

Miss Montgomery said the most serious allegation was that he had unprotected sex with Miss W without her consent because she was asleep at the time.

The alleged offence is classed as "minor rape" and carries a maximum sentence of four years. Mr Assange claims the sex was consensual.

Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and purple tie, Mr Assange took occasional notes as he sat in the dock of the court behind a 15ft high screen of security glass. He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and his home address in Victoria, Australia.

Mr Assange was held under a European Arrest Warrant in December and spent several days in Wandsworth prison before he was released on conditional bail with a surety of £200,000.

Since then he has been living under a curfew in a manor house in Norfolk owned by a friend, where he has continued to supervise the publication of further documents from a batch of 250,000 leaked diplomatic communiqués.  Telegraph