Updated: The Swedish prosecution office has now issued a notice saying that they are charging Assange with rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. He has been "detained in his absence". Here's the notice:
The matter concerning Mr. Assange
The Matter concerning Julian Assange has been detained in his absence charged with rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion. Mr Assange had appealed the detention decision issued by Svea Court of Appeal.
Today the Supreme Court has taken a decision not to grant Julian Assange leave to appeal. If the Supreme Court is to hear an appeal, leave to appeal must first be granted. Leave to appeal is only granted if the case is assessed as being very important to the application of the law or if other extraordinary reasons apply.
The arrest warrant is based on the detention decision that has now been examined by all three legal instances. The additional information requested by the British Police concerns the penalties for the other crimes, in addition to rape, that Julian Assange was arrested for. This information will be supplied immediately. The previous arrest warrant stands.
Obviously, this is now a completely different issue altogether. Rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion are extremely grave accusations. This is not the "sex by surprise" accusation that was discussed before.
It's important to remember that he hasn't been found guilty by a tribunal yet. Assange should turn himself in as soon as possible and clear the matter in the court. The people at WikiLeaks can keep publishing material while he's in court. It's not enough to claim that he's innocent and the victim of a conspiracy, while hiding in Britain.
Still, it's still amazing to me that anonymous people want to burn a man without having a condemning verdict by a court of law, without applying the most basic concept of presumption of innocence. The popular inquisitors—all-in-one prosecutors, judges and executors—fell that they can condemn anyone because of their very own interpretation of media bites and rumors. Thankfully, for Assange and the rest of people who believe in due process, we are not in the middle ages anymore.
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Here's the original (and completely unchanged) article based on the Daily Mail and AOL News reports about the previous charge. [Thanks NateN!]