Assange lawyer: Risk of 'denial of justice'

[February 07, 2011]  LONDON (AP) -- A lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Monday that Swedish secrecy around rape proceedings and his client's global notoriety mean there is a risk of a "flagrant denial of justice" if he is extradited to Sweden over sex crimes allegations.

Assange lawyer Geoffrey Robertson said his client was fighting extradition because such trials are usually held in secret. A trial behind closed doors would be "a flagrant denial of justice ... blatantly unfair, not only by British standards but by European standards and indeed by international standards," he said.

"You cannot have a fair trial where the press and the public are excluded from the court," Robertson said.

The detention hearings in the case in Sweden so far have been held behind closed doors.

Assange is accused of sexual misconduct by two women he met during a visit to Stockholm last year. Defense lawyers are arguing that he should not be extradited because he has not been charged with a crime and is only wanted for questioning, because of flaws in Swedish prosecutors' case -- and because a ticket to Sweden could eventually land him in Guantanamo Bay or on U.S. death row.

American officials are trying to build a criminal case against the secret-spilling site, which has angered Washington by publishing a trove of leaked diplomatic cables and secret U.S. military files. Assange's lawyers claim the Swedish prosecution is linked to the leaks and politically motivated.

Preliminary defense arguments released by Assange's legal team claim "there is a real risk that, if extradited to Sweden, the U.S. will seek his extradition and/or illegal rendition to the USA, where there will be a real risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere."

The document adds that "there is a real risk that he could be made subject to the death penalty" if sent to the United States. Under European law, suspects cannot be extradited to jurisdictions where they may face execution.

Assange, wearing a blue suit, was flanked by two prison guards as the hearing opened at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court. Celebrity supporters Jemima Khan and Bianca Jagger also attended.

Robertson denied Assange had committed any sexual offenses in English law.

He said all relationships, long or short, contain "moments of frustration, irritation and argument. This doesn't mean, in this country, that the police are entitled to sniff under the bedclothes."

[Associated Press; By JILL LAWLESS]

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