[Tycho]

What a disgraceful episode for our governments, the media, and the public who seem to have fallen hook, line and sinker for a blatantly orchestrated smear campaign. I don’t understand what the hell goes through people’s minds when they see such blatantly trumped up and unprovable charges levied against a big-time persona non grata of the CIA/Pentagon and decide to take them at face value. No matter that the US sprung their secret extradition request the second he left asylum. No matter that of course Sweden has no genuine interest in pursuing the original ‘case’. No matter that the US will cynically prepare more charges to apply once he’s on their soil. Apparently these sorts of dirty tricks are absolutely fine. Every step of the way we’ll have useful idiots lecturing us on the technicalities of the Swedish legal code.

[ChrisSD]

He provably skipped bail.

EDIT: And tbh I'm not sure how the original arrest warrant for rape could be considered by anyone to be a "technicality".

[roenxi]

That is true, but he was hiding in an embassy for the best part of a decade. That isn't a scheme to avoid 50 months in jail.

The jail sentence for skipping bail is the reasonable part of the whole story. No question that it was about as bad a case of bail-skipping as could be imagined.

The issue is more one of why exactly is the justice system involving itself in his business. He didn't think he'd committed a crime in Sweden. His 'victims' didn't think he needed to be arrested. The police didn't think he needed to be arrested at the time either. The word 'rape' seems to be something of a mistranslation on this one.

I gather (from Wikipedia) that he maintained he had consensual sex [0], so it's going to be interesting, if he does get to Sweden before the US grabs him, what actual evidence is involved.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assange_v_Swedish_Prosecution_...

[SkyBelow]

Is there a timeline of when the public turned against him. One which compares it to the spread of information/propaganda about his involvement with helping Trump win the election? I wonder if that was a key event in people becoming willing to accept any other information/propaganda that casts Assange in a negative light.

[Tycho]

He never had much support once the smear that “two women accused him of rape” was intentionally leaked and broadcast. Most people don’t dig into the details, and no one wants to defend “a sex offender.” And, since the British high-brow media are such a bunch of weasels, he didn’t have much chance of overcoming it.

[rich-tea]

It changed when people realised the truth that was being revealed was the wrong truth. People remembered that huge swathes of society are built on lies and deceit and they aren't prepared to do better.

[fit2rule]

Hubris and self-loathing: Julian weaponised these human emotions against the American people, and they despise him for it.