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Assange: Drama Behind the Scenes July 2012

Something's going on or not going on that should be going on.


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DUCKPOND (Rixstep) — Recent releases by FOI king 'Under Mattan' are revealing more and more about the intrigues in the corridors of power regarding Julian Assange.

Flashback doyen Trenter looks today at one incident in particular - the visit in Stockholm to the Swedish ministry of foreign affairs by Ecuador's ambassador to Sweden, Mario Guerrero, on 25 July 2012.

The visit by Guerrero came unannounced. Guerrero was received by Jonas Lovén who in turn told his colleague Per Hedvall of the visit in an email message sent out the same evening at 17:19 with a Cc to six other officials.

But there's more. Trenter tells the story.

Drama Behind the Scenes:

The evening of 24 July 2012: Assange legal counsel Per E Samuelson writes to Marianne Ny.

'In order to avoid misunderstandings, Thomas Olsson and I want to make clear our client Julian Assange is prepared to be interrogated at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.'

25 July 2012: The day after, Jonas Lovén gets an unexpected visitor: Ecuador's ambassador to Sweden. This is what Lovén tells Per Hedvall at the MFA about the incident. The message is stamped 17:19 and goes to a further 6 people at the ministry.

'Per,

'Ecuador's ambassador Mario Guerrero was here today, no prior notice. He wanted to leave a note with us. I'm attaching the note to this message and shall register it as well. The note refers to the fact that Assange's legal representatives have requested he be interrogated in London, and it states that the Ecuadorean embassy is prepared to cooperate with the Swedish authorities in this matter.

'/Jonas'


The note is dated 25 July 2012 and was submitted in two versions, Spanish and English.

'The embassy has been informed that Mr Julian Assange, through his lawyers, has made known to the Swedish Prosecution's Office his availability to be interrogated in the facilities of the Embassy of Ecuador in London. In this context, the Embassy of Ecuador makes patent the National Government willingness to provide the cooperation that would be necessary accordingly with the decision of the relevant Swedish authorities.'

26 July 2012: The following day the matter is brought before the ministry's America Department. It is processed by department secretary Alexander Akhlaghi. Akhlaghi registers the document and enters its receipt in the ministry journal.



And what happens then? 27 July, 28 July, 29 July?

[27-29 July 2012 was a Friday - Sunday weekend. And nobody works in Sweden on Fridays anyway. Particularly not in July. Ed.]

But five days later, Monday 30 July, Marianne Ny writes to Per E Samuelson.

'I've been able to read in the media that an offer to interrogate your client at the Ecuadorean embassy has been made. I'm not sure who would have made such an offer.'

That's a very arrogant reply to Samuelson's letter. And one can't help but wonder: is it really possible that Marianne Ny was not informed about the visit of the Ecuadorean ambassador and the offer made by the Ecuadorean government? That doesn't sound believable to me. What's going on between the foreign ministry and the prosecution authority?

I see but two possibilities - either Marianne Ny is bluffing again, or the MFA decided to not inform the prosecutor of the offer made by Ecuador.

See Also
Industry Watch: Our Man Bildt
Red Hat Diaries: Marianne Ny & TIME
Industry Watch: Jen-Rob Meets Carl Bildt
Industry Watch: Assange in Sweden: An Exchange
Industry Watch: Julian's & Anna's Molecular Biology
Learning Curve: No Questioning Assange in the UK?
Industry Watch: Assange in Sweden: 3½ Wasted Hours

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