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Truth of Sweden is Stranger than Fiction

There's a point where morality flips.

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CANBERRA/LONDON/SYDNEY/STOCKHOLM — 'There's a point where morality flips', wrote Elizabeth Farrelly for the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 April 2012 - the story of Julian Assange 'hinges on the uncomfortable relationship between truth and power'. But did she know how right she was?

'We expect truth-telling from our four-year-olds but not from our politicians. In the case of Assange, truth is actively and repeatedly punished. This implies that, as you move up through society's power strata, there's a point where morality flips.'

Farrelly went on to note a number of highly questionable things on the Australian political landscape.

Labor in New South Wales sent their politicians on a special course after their defeats in the recent elections. They had to learn how to be 'honest with ourselves and... the people we represent'.
Labor senator Mark Arbib, who was found to be key in the plot to replace PM Kevin Rudd with the very US-friendly Julia Gillard, was later found to be a secret US government source and grateful owner of a beachfront flat in Maroubra.
Arbib was the Canberra guest of Gillard staffer Alexandra Williamson for two years.
Former Labor treasurer Eric Roozendaal, along with Labor MLC Eddie Obeid's son, also got nice flats there.

'It's the Philippines out there', Farrelly lamented, and proceeded to her punch line.

'I mention all this not just to illustrate that high-level grubbiness is so normal we almost expect it, but to highlight a more sinister possibility: that we, like the Philippines, are a puppet US state, where truth comes second to power.'

She could have left well enough alone at this point. But she didn't.

'It's quite clear that Assange is not guilty - not of rape, not of treason.'

That innocent remark unleashed a fury at 5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla - with the Swedish ambassador in Australia, Sven-Olof Petersson. Almost immediately, the Swedish foreign ministry wires were ablaze with email messages all asking 'what do we do?'

'What do we do?'

Ambassador Sven-Olof Petersson knew what he wanted to do. He wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald and, after complaining some things can be difficult to find on the InterTubes, managed to get the email address of Elizabeth Farrelly so he could send a tasty message to her as well.

Kick back and watch morality flip.

From: Sven-Olof Petersson
Sent: 18 April 2012 09:27
To:
Subject: Re: Facts on Sweden [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you for telling us that Mr Assange is innocent of everything. I will forward that to the judicial authorities in Sweden, which seem to be in some doubt! It is good to get this straightened out from someone who clearly was present during the 'penetrations'! I'm sure the Swedish prosecutor will appreciate your advice and take immediate action!

Also, thanks for telling us that the Swedish judicial system is 'impenetrable'. I think it needed an 'architect and author' to reveal this sad state of affairs. I'm afraid to say that Swedes aren't aware at all about this terrible situation!

That only thing that does puzzles [sic] me is that if the CIA now wants to get a hold [sic] of Assange, why don't they bring it up with their colleagues in the UK? After all, the UK is supposedly the closest ally of the USA, possibly together with Australia?

Sweden has excellent relations with the US, but is not an ally! It seems the UK would be a better bet! Don't you think?

To have someone extradited from Sweden requires a crime punishable with at least one year of imprisonment.

A person risking the death penalty can not be extradited. Nor can a person be extradited for 'political' or 'military' offences!

Regards,

Sven-Olof Petersson
---------------------------------------------
Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador
Embassy of Sweden
5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla
Canberra ACT 2600
www.swedenabroad.com/canberra
Telephone: +61 2 6270 2732
Mobile: 0400 880 233
Fax: +61 2 6270 2755
Email: Sven-Olof.Petersson@foreign.ministry.se

Petersson then wrote to Antony Lawes, editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.

In response to the article 'Truth of Assange is stranger than fiction' by Elizabeth Farrelly, it is interesting for me to note how much an 'architect and writer' from Downunder says she knows about the judicial system in far away Sweden and what happened there more than a year ago! Of course, as a writer she always has the right to live in fantasy-land! But why this contempt for a country of which she knows nothing?

But here are the facts!

The Swedish judicial system is transparent and independent. Consequently the Government has no views on what has taken place nor will it comment on actions taken by the relevant judicial authorities in Sweden nor the substance of the case.

I trust that is the same thing in Australia!

The Public Prosecutor has issued an arrest warrent [sic] regarding Mr Assange. That issue is now before the Supreme Court in the UK.

Extradition from Sweden can only take place if the alleged crime is punishable in Sweden with at least one year imprisonment. If the person is transferred to Sweden from another EU-country, based on an arrest warrant, extradition can take place only with the consent of this country.

A person risking the death penalty can not be extradited.

Nor can a person be extradited for 'political' or 'military' offences!

Personally I would advise Mr Assange to have full confidence in the Swedish judicial process.

Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador of Sweden to Australia
---------------------------------------------
Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador
Embassy of Sweden
5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla
Canberra ACT 2600
www.swedenabroad.com/canberra
Telephone: +61 2 6270 2732
Mobile: 0400 880 233
Fax: +61 2 6270 2755
Email: Sven-Olof.Petersson@foreign.ministry.se

Lawes wrote back to Petersson.

From: Antony Lawes <alawes@fairfaxmedia.com.au> To: "ambassaden.canberra@foreign.ministry.se"<ambassaden.canberra@foreign.ministry.se> Date: 2012-04-17 17:26 Subject: Letters to the editor Dear Mr Petersson, We are running your letter in tomorrow's paper but with some minor changes. The edited letter is below. Please contact me should you have any queries. Kind regards, Antony Lawes

The redacted letter looked like this.

It seems that Elizabeth Farrelly ('Truth of Assange is stranger than fiction', April 12) has contempt for a country of which she knows nothing.

Here are the facts. The Swedish judicial system is transparent and independent. Consequently the Government has no view on what has taken place nor will it comment on actions taken by the relevant judicial authorities in Sweden nor the substance of the case. I trust that is the same thing in Australia.

The Public Prosecutor has issued an arrest warrent [sic] regarding Mr Assange. That issue is now before the Supreme Court in the UK.

Extradition from Sweden can take place only if the alleged crime is punishable in Sweden with at least one year imprisonment. If the person is transferred to Sweden from another EU-country, based on an arrest warrant, extradition can take place only with the consent of this country.

A person risking the death penalty can not be extradited.

Nor can a person be extradited for 'political' or 'military' offences.

Personally I would advise Mr Assange to have full confidence in the Swedish judicial process.

Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador of Sweden
Yarralumla (ACT)

Petersson wasn't happy. And this time he sent his reply to all his buddies in the foreign ministry (and seems to have sent it to his boss Anders Jörle twice).

From: Sven-Olof Petersson:
Sent: 18 April 2012 02:13
To: Sara Malmgren
Cc: Anders Jörle, Anders Jörle, Helena Melin Hultgren, Helena Sångeland, Matilda Sandén, Thomas Lindblom, Ulrika Gustafsson
Subject: Truncated response in today's SMH. See below!

Dear Mr Lawes,

Thanks for publishing my short letter regarding Elisabeth [sic] Farrelly's rambling opinion piece about CIA-controlled labor, innocent Assange and about her special contempt for my country!

However, the way you choose to cut down my letter sends a strong signal that while your columnists are free to write any kind of rubbish, you will not allow those effected [sic] to critize [sic] your columnists!

I find that sad!

Regards,

Sven-Olof Petersson
---------------------------------------------
Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador
Embassy of Sweden
5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla
Canberra ACT 2600
www.swedenabroad.com/canberra
Telephone: +61 2 6270 2732
Mobile: 0400 880 233
Fax: +61 2 6270 2755
Email: Sven-Olof.Petersson@foreign.ministry.se

Petersson and the others had already been in a panic for days. Petersson was tasked with the retaliation to the SMH.

From: Sven-Olof Petersson
Sent: 16 April 2012 08:49
To: Sara Malmgren
Cc: Anders Jörle, Helena Melin Hultgren, Helena Sångeland, Matilda Sandén, Thomas Lindblom, Ulrika Gustafsson
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What do we do?

Thanks!

I'm polishing it up a bit and trying to get it in.

It's impossible to get an email address to the lady!

I can understand why!

sop
---------------------------------------------
Sven-Olof Petersson
Ambassador
Embassy of Sweden
5 Turrana Street, Yarralumla
Canberra ACT 2600
www.swedenabroad.com/canberra
Telephone: +61 2 6270 2732
Mobile: 0400 880 233
Fax: +61 2 6270 2755
Email: Sven-Olof.Petersson@foreign.ministry.se

But Sara was pleased.

From: Sara Malmgren/FOREIGN/MINISTRY
To: Anders Jörle/FOREIGN/MINISTRY/@RK
Cc: anders.jorle@foreign.ministry.se, helena.melin-hultgren@foreign.ministry.se, helena.sangeland@foreign.ministry.se, matilda.sanden@foreign.ministry.se, sven-olof.pettersson@foreign.ministry.se, thomas.lindblom@foreign.ministry.se, ulrika.gustafsson@foreign.ministry.se
Date: 2012-04-16 18:40
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What do we do?

Hi!

I think the piece is OK.

Sara Malmgren
Political advisor
Ministers Office
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Telefon: +46 (8) 405 5469
Mobil: +46 (070) 265 0429
sara.malmgren@foreign.ministry.se

Petersson had been advised in the early stages by Anders Jörle at the ministry. And everybody but everybody was in on it.

From: Anders.Jorle/FOREIGN/MINISTRY
To: sven-olof.pettersson@foreign.ministry.se, sara.malmgren@foreign.ministry.se
Cc: anders.jorle@foreign.ministry.se, helena.melin-hultgren@foreign.ministry.se, matilda.sanden@foreign.ministry.se, helena.sangeland@foreign.ministry.se, ulrika.gustafsson@foreign.ministry.se
Date: 2012-04-14 15:58
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What do we do?

Can't you write a proposal from your local perspective that we can check out according to what Sara suggests? The legal process in the UK is ongoing, so this is a sensitive issue.

Anders

A Few Real Facts

It's now been demonstrated beyond any doubt that the case of Assange in Sweden has long since been hijacked by the US. The following letter was, for example, processed correctly - but summarily ignored.

And we all know how the US pressured William Hague at the FCO to storm the Ecuadorian embassy to get Assange, damn the torpedoes - a move so drastic it would have resulted in a worldwide diplomatic crisis.

This isn't and likely never has been about a broken condom. Eva Finné said so already back on 21 August 2010.

The Swedish judicial system is neither transparent nor independent. It's hard to achieve transparency when courtroom doors are closed to the citizenry and verdicts are sealed because the lay judges are embarrassed at their own incompetence.

The Swedish judicial system is not independent when the likes of the da Costa scandal and the Quick scandal can take place - where innocent people are convicted over and over again without a shred of evidence, where cronies come out of the woodwork when their friends are finally outed, where the media - with the notorious Expressen often in the forefront - conduct vitriolic hate campaigns against people who are supposed to be presumed innocent.

And all the guarantees in the world by Swedish morality flippers at ambassadorial outposts don't mean squat when the likes of the following can happen.

Repatriation of Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery

Agiza and al-Zery were two asylum seekers from Egypt who made the mistake of thinking Sweden was a neutral fair country. They came to Sweden but were summarily 'rendered' by the CIA to Mubarak's torture chambers in Egypt from Bromma airport outside Stockholm.

The following images are from a reenactment of Mubarak's welcoming party.

For Agiza and al-Zery, morality flipped.

I'm so sick of it all. Will it never end? At any rate I want to say the other girl's just as much to blame.
- Anna Ardin

Apparently Swedish laws are unique. If you have a penis you're half a rapist before you even get through customs.
- Scott Adams

If I am able to reveal what I know, everyone will realise this is all a charade. If I could tell the British courts, I suspect it would make extradition a moot point.
- Björn Hurtig

I can tell you that the Swedish prosecution still hasn't provided copies of those SMS texts that have been referred to. Those texts are some of the most powerful exculpatory evidence. In Australia prosecutors have a very grave duty to disclose such evidence to courts when seeking the grave exercise of a court's power against an individual. Yet in Sweden in this case, in the first hearings to obtain an arrest warrant, those texts were not submitted to the Swedish court, which is highly improper.
- James Catlin

The prosecutor could achieve this broadening of the law during Assange's trial so he can be convicted of a crime that didn't exist at the time he allegedly committed it. She would need to. There is no precedent for this. The Swedes are making it up as they go along.
- James Catlin

Julian Assange will surely learn that considering what WikiLeaks has published, he's got a few enemies in the Pentagon, the CIA, and the White House. Sweden began an investigation into rape which was later dismissed. Assange was even denied residence in Sweden. One can only speculate to what extent the security agencies of the US were involved. And considering the obvious interest of the US to silence WikiLeaks, is it likely Assange will have an accident of the 'Boston brakes' kind in the coming years? Or will he be snared with compromising information of the 'honey trap' kind?
- 'Drozd' at Flashback 23 October 2010

The truth will out, the truth wins out. Let no journalist ever again speculate into what the protocols say. Six months of digging and the people at Flashback have the actual documents. The sleaze printed by rags such as the Daily Mail, Sweden's Aftonbladet and Expressen, and perhaps above all the toxic Nick Davies of the Guardian, can stand no more. Yet more: these documents are an indictment of the 'news organisations' who've printed deliberate inaccuracies all along or even worse: refused to print anything at all. Nick Davies' account of the protocols was maliciously skewed; both Aftonbladet and Expressen had copies early on and printed nothing. Bloggers had copies but arrogantly kept the information to their Smeagol selves.
- The Assange Police Protocol: Translator's Note