Will Assange End up in American Jail?

[andyandy]

I know there's another rather long thread re whether he's guilty of rape/assault etc etc. but in this thread I'm going to pose a much simpler 2 part question -

1) Will Assange end up eventually in jail in America?

2) And should he?

I'd be inclined to say yes to the first 1 (that's not to say I believe the idea that the Swedish charges are part of a wider conspiracy by the US - after all I would have thought it would be easier to extradite from the UK to the US. Nevertheless sooner or later I think he will be extradited to the US.

And with regards to 2? I'd be inclined to say no.

What do you reckon?

 

[commandlinegamer]

Not voting due to lack of Planet X.

 

[BenBurch]

Actually I think it more likely that it ends in a shoot-out with the police, and possibly hostages taken.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

My preferred scenario is that he gets extradited from Sweden to the US, is convicted and gets sentenced to life in prison, but dies under mysterious circumstances (shot while trying to escape?) soon after. For bonus points, Wikileaks would publish secret documents proving that the US forced Sweden to trump up rape charges so that they could get their hands on him, and that they never intended to let him live.

This would maximize my outrage against the USA.

Unhappily however, it looks like he might manage to evade martyr status and show the World that he's just another self-serving ass. Sometime later, when everybody has forgotten about him, the CIA might arrange for him to have a little 'accident', or perhaps a creative 'suicide'.

 

[Childlike Empress]

X On Planet X, America will end up in Assange's jail

 

[Lamuella]

is there an option for "I don't think he will, but I don't really care if he does or not"?

To be honest, I think he'll end up in a Swedish jail.

 

[lionking]

None won't, and no he shouldn't. His only "crime" is showing up government (not just the US) duplicity.

 

[Lamuella]

None won't, and no he shouldn't. His only "crime" is showing up government (not just the US) duplicity.

well, that's not the only crime that has been mentioned in connection with him, but there's a whole other thread for that.

 

[lionking]

well, that's not the only crime that has been mentioned in connection with him, but there's a whole other thread for that.

How can one comment in a thread about jailing Assange without talking about the alleged crimes?

 

[Fredrik]

I hate those "Planet X" options, and I'm glad that recent polls haven't had any. (There are less annoying ways to say "none of the above"). I voted no and no, but I have to admit that I know very little about the sort of information that he has chosen to publish. I don't even know if Wikileaks makes any kind of selection at all, or just publish everything they get.

What I do know is that Wikileaks has published information about horrible things done by the USA. That makes it hard to not think of Assange in mostly positive terms, even though he seems to be a pretty flawed individual.

 

[Fredrik]

well, that's not the only crime that has been mentioned in connection with him, but there's a whole other thread for that.

How can one comment in a thread about jailing Assange without talking about the alleged crimes?

This thread is about him possibly ending up in prison in the USA (or Guantanamo), so it should be a good place to talk about the legal and moral aspects of publishing secret information, but not a good place to talk about the crimes that he may or may not be charged with in Sweden.

 

[Andy_Ross]

I hate those "Planet X" options, and I'm glad that recent polls haven't had any. (There are less annoying ways to say "none of the above"). I voted no and no, but I have to admit that I know very little about the sort of information that he has chosen to publish. I don't even know if Wikileaks makes any kind of selection at all, or just publish everything they get.

What I do know is that Wikileaks has published information about horrible things done by the USA. That makes it hard to not think of Assange in mostly positive terms, even though he seems to be a pretty flawed individual.

No worse things than those done by any other country. It's the way the world works.

People seem to take great delight in being outraged simply because it is the USA in the spotlight .

 

[JihadJane]

No worse things than those done by any other country. It's the way the world works.

People seem to take great delight in being outraged simply because it is the USA in the spotlight .

Which other country purporting to be a guiding light of freedom and democracy abducts and tortures people, locks them up indefinitely without charge and claims the right to murder anyone it chooses anywhere in the world, including within its own national boundaries?

 

[lionking]

This thread is about him possibly ending up in prison in the USA (or Guantanamo), so it should be a good place to talk about the legal and moral aspects of publishing secret information, but not a good place to talk about the crimes that he may or may not be charged with in Sweden.

Sorry, I simply can't see how you can somehow contribute to a thread about Assange's jailing without talking about the "crimes". If you want to talk about legal aspects of publishing secret information in the abstract, don't reference Assange in the OP.

 

[Lamuella]

Sorry, I simply can't see how you can somehow contribute to a thread about Assange's jailing without talking about the "crimes".

This is a thread about whether he will end up in an american jail. The crimes (please note the lack of scare quotes) that Sweden want to question him about would land him in a swedish jail. There is already a thread about those.

 

[Jim_MDP]

Option Z: I only read half the posts (really) and couldn't be arsed to care about the case.

Amazed I actually posted.

 

[andyandy]

Sorry, I simply can't see how you can somehow contribute to a thread about Assange's jailing without talking about the "crimes". If you want to talk about legal aspects of publishing secret information in the abstract, don't reference Assange in the OP.

yes to clarify - we already have a rather long thread re the Swedish charges - if people want to discuss those charges it best to do that on that one. I was more interested in whether charges will be brought by the US with regards to wikileaks, whether they should be, and whether an eventual extradition is likely or not....

 

[lionking]

This is a thread about whether he will end up in an american jail. The crimes (please note the lack of scare quotes) that Sweden want to question him about would land him in a swedish jail. There is already a thread about those.

They are not scare quotes. He has not been convicted of anything. It's a response to your use of the word crime as if it's been proven. Instead of the quotation marks, I could have used "alleged". Same thing.

 

[lionking]

yes to clarify - we already have a rather long thread re the Swedish charges - if people want to discuss those charges it best to do that on that one. I was more interested in whether charges will be brought by the US with regards to wikileaks, whether they should be, and whether an eventual extradition is likely or not....

Extradited for what?

See this is where your desire not to discuss Assange's alleged offences makes no sense. The US has not charged him with anything, and I don't believe he has committed any crime. I'm going to say so here because it's relevant to his extradition and jailing.

ETA and if this is about being jailed in the US, the possible Swedish charges are totally irrelevant.

 

[KDLarsen]

No, the US is far more interested in plugging the actual leaks and know fully well that throwing Assange in jail won't do anything to fix that.

Throwing the book at Manning will have a far greater warning effect on any potential leaks, than anything they could do to Assange.