Claes Borgstrom, a self-professed feminist who used to be Sweden's ombudsman for gender equality, told The Associated Press he finds it "very upsetting" that Assange, his lawyers and some supporters are suggesting the case is a smear campaign against WikiLeaks, the secret-spilling website Assange founded.
"He's been spreading false rumors that he knows are untrue. It's reckless against these two women," Borgstrom said by phone Thursday. "They, too, are supporters of WikiLeaks. They support its work."
Assange denies the allegations of sexual misconduct, which his lawyers say stem from a dispute over "consensual but unprotected sex." He has not been charged.
The lawyer said Assange had every right to reject the women's sex claims but says Assange is, in essence, accusing them of breaking the law by suggesting they are driven by ulterior motives.
"There is no truth to this whatsoever," he added.
British newspaper The Times recently quoted Assange as saying there is "very suggestive evidence" the two women were motivated by revenge, money and police pressure. When the investigation started after the August incidents, Assange said he had been warned about "dirty tricks" from the Pentagon, though he later said he wasn't pointing fingers at anyone.
At the time, WikiLeaks had deeply angered U.S. officials by publishing tens of thousands of secret U.S. military documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, memos that the U.S. said could have put the lives of informants at risk.
The silver-haired Australian met both women in connection with a lecture on Aug. 14 in Stockholm. One, a 31-year-old, was involved in organizing the event for Sweden's left-wing Social Democratic Party and offered to host Assange at her apartment. The other, a few years younger, was in the audience.
Assange had sex with both within a week, police documents show. The women realized that when the younger woman contacted the older one seeking to get in touch with Assange. They went to police together, not to file criminal complaint, but to seek advice, Borgstrom said.
A policewoman who heard their stories decided there was reason to suspect they were victims of sex crimes and handed over the case to a prosecutor.
Lawyer Gemma Lindfield, acting for Sweden in British courts, said one of the women accused Assange of pinning her down and refusing to use a condom. The second says Assange had sex with her without a condom while she was asleep.
The case appears anything but clear-cut. A chief prosecutor in Stockholm dropped the rape complaint shortly after the case began, and it would most likely have ended there had it not been for Borgstrom.
The 66-year-old lawyer successfully appealed the decision to a more senior prosecutor who relaunched the investigation. Two-and-half months later, when Assange had already left Sweden, the senior prosecutor got court approval for a request to interrogate Assange on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.
Assange is now out on bail in Britain, fighting his extradition to Sweden.
