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Marianne Ny: 'Hellre Häkta än Höra'

Flashback's 'outoftheblue' scrutinises the Swedish prosecutor's correspondence.


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GOTHENBURG/LONDON (Rixstep) — Marianne Ny, and none other, is responsible for the condemned detention of Julian Assange - it is she who issued the arrest warrant. But a closer look shows that she very likely was never interested in interviewing Assange. 'Detain rather than question' - 'hellre häkta än höra' - seems to be her motto.

The following is an analysis of Marianne Ny's correspondence for September/October 2010, the precise period Marianne Ny has never accounted for at the website of the prosecution authority.


It is Marianne Ny who is ultimately responsible for Julian Assange's arrest warrant - she issued the warrant.

Also, it took her a full three weeks before she even condescended to discuss an interrogation date. So it's not only that she stubbornly insisted on questioning certain witnesses (Johannes Wahlström and Donald Boström on 20 September) before she interviewed Assange, she even refused to discuss the date of Assange's interview until their interrogations were completed! And precisely three weeks after, on 21 September, finally agreeing to even discuss the date for Assange's interview, she threatened, on 12 October, to issue an arrest warrant.

Shouldn't Marianne Ny have begun discussing the Assange interview earlier?

Shouldn't Marianne Ny have had more patience?

Messages from Swedish authorities are often regarded as reaching their destination in a fortnight. This is customary. Marianne Ny would have no reason to go through the roof even if it were to take Hurtig two weeks to reach Julian. And it took Hurtig only one week. This has to be acceptable, and with good margin. If Marianne had sent an actual summons to Julian via Hurtig, Julian could have in theory chosen between appearing as requested or supplying a lawful excuse. But Marianne Ny didn't want to issue a summons. Instead, she weaves through interview dates with only one day's notice. Actually the very same day, for her SMS message was sent 19:27 the day before and as such cannot be regarded as received until the following day, if one sticks to normal office hours.

From: Marianne Ny
  To: Björn Hurtig
Sent: 5 October 19:27

Hi!

How would you and Julian feel about coming in tomorrow for an interview, at 16:30?

Three weeks should be regarded as sufficient time to arrange an interview, given that it can take a week or two to reach a free person, and then perhaps one week for that person to adjust their plans and prepare for their travel from abroad to the place of the interview, or else supply a lawful excuse, or else discuss another date for the interrogation.

But three weeks is all Marianne Ny gave them. 10 October was up for discussion, but Marianne Ny didn't like that date (a Sunday). 14 October - only four days later - was also up for discussion, but Marianne Ny refused to consider it: she wrote to Hurtig that it was 'too far into the future'.

Precisely three weeks is what she gave them, despite never issuing a formal summons to interrogation.

And that's what happened to the first six weeks for Marianne Ny. First: three weeks where she refused to discuss a date for interview; then three weeks where she dismissed three proposals from Assange, via Hurtig: 10 October, 14 October, and an interview by telephone:

From: Erika
  To: Marianne

Hi!

Just spoke with Hurtig. Assange is out of the country. They can come for an interview either 10 October or 14 October. I'll ring you before noon.

From: Marianne
  To: Erika, Gehlin
Date: 8 October 15:04

Hi!

Hurtig just rang. Assange is abroad, completing a major project. He offered to be interviewed by telephone. Hurtig will see if he can come personally on Thursday.

So Marianne Ny was evidently more interested in detaining Assange than she was in hearing what he had to say. 'Detain rather than question' - that's Marianne Ny's motto.

  • 2010-10-08: Marianne Ny wants nothing to do with the proposal for a telephone interview
  • 2010-10-10: Marianne Ny's not interested because it's a Sunday
  • 2010-10-14: Marianne Ny's not interested because it's 'too late'

And on 12 October, Marianne Ny begins threatening with an arrest warrant.

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

See Also
Industry Watch: Ny: 'I Don't Want to Discuss It'
Red Hat Diaries: Marianne Ny & The Secrecy Act
Industry Watch: 'Her behaviour undermines trust in our legal process'

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