Swedish Police Opens Criminal Complaint File ahead of Wednesday’s Obama Visit to Sweden
Tuesday, 3 September 2013, 15:20 BST (London Time)
Julian Assange’s lawyer Per E. Samuelson confirmed that Swedish police opened a criminal complaint file at 11.35 under case number 0201 K 268906-13. The complaint was delivered to Arlanda police at 09:24 this morning.This is the first of four criminal complaints to be filed in different jurisdictions by WikiLeaks during the month of September against unlawful interference in its journalistic activities. A second criminal complaint has been filed today in a different jurisdiction. The details of this complaint will be announced today at 18:00 CET.
The criminal complaint has been filed ahead of the arrival of the US Obama delegation. The complaint concerns the likely unlawful seizure of WikiLeaks property on 27 September 2010, following its publication of thousands of classified US intelligence documents on the war in Afghanistan. WikiLeaks’ publisher Julian Assange said: "Swedish authorities have the opportunity to demonstrate that no one, including state officials, is above the law."
The complaint details a number of matters not previously made public and which WikiLeaks decided to withhold until the conclusion of the court martial of PFC Chelsea Manning.
The property seized included evidence of a war crime perpetrated by US forces in Afganistan in which more than sixty women and children were killed, known as the Garani massacre. The filing follows the revelation of unlawful FBI and US intelligence activities against WikiLeaks in Europe that have been forced onto the public record through a Parliamentary inquiry in Iceland and the Manning court martial.
The 186-page affidavit now made public details ongoing and illegal attempts by US authorities to interfere with WikiLeaks’ publishing and journalistic activities. Attacks such as those that WikiLeaks has endured have become a concerning trend, as exemplified by the recent abuse of the UK Terrorism Act to seize electronic devices and other materials belonging to those working on the Edward Snowden US mass surveillance revelations.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks’ publisher, said: "Now is the time for everyone to take a stand to put an end to Obama’s war against national security journalism – at home and abroad. This filing, recent court victories, and our successful intervention in the case of Edward Snowden, represent the continuing reorientation of WikiLeaks from legal defence to legal attack."
Links
Julian Assange’s affidavit in PDF (minus appendix) in PDF:
- Swedish Complaint 3 September 2013
Present status:
On 24 April 2013 WikiLeaks won its three-year battle against the unilateral, extra-judicial US financial services blockade of WikiLeaks donors, securing victory in the Supreme Court of Iceland.
On 18 June 2013 WikiLeaks lodged a compensation demand for US$75 million against Valitor (formally, VISA Iceland).
On 30 June 2013 MasterCard pulled out of the financial blockade against WikiLeaks.
As of 2 September 2013, Julian Assange has been detained for 1,000 days (440 days in the Ecuadorian embassy of London, where he has political asylum; 550 days under house arrest; and 10 days in solitary confinement). He has not been charged in the UK or Sweden at any stage. For further information, see http://justice4assange.com/extradit....
On 4 and 5 September 2013 Barack Obama will visit Sweden en route to the G20, having cancelled a planned Russia-US summit scheduled for these dates. The White House stated that the cancellation was partly as a result of Snowden’s successful asylum bid.
On 5 September 2013 an unendorsed Hollywood movie about WikiLeaks by Dreamworks and distributed by Disney, "The Fifth Estate", will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek: Into the Darkness) as Julian Assange. The film’s general release is on 18 October.
On 7 September 2013 Julian Assange and six other WikiLeaks Party candidates are running for the Senate in the national Australian elections.
In early 2014 the United Kingdom will withdraw from the EU extradition agreement (EAW) that has kept Mr Assange detained without charge in the UK in relation to Sweden’s preliminary investigation.
WikiLeaks continues to publish thousands of documents every week.
The US Department of Justice probe against WikiLeaks and its staff continues.
