Whatever Julian Assange’s felony position (Letters, 13 April), the United Kingdom authorities need to be aware of the USA’s technique to worldwide law. In May 2002, the United States withdrew its signature from the Rome Statute, under which the International Criminal Court has been created, threatening to release, through navy pressure if necessary, any indicted US residents who would possibly end up legitimately held in The Hague. In August 2002, the US threatened to withdraw resources from countries that refused to recognize the immunity of US army personnel from ICC prosecution. Even the American-based Human Rights Watch described this as “blackmail.”
The US maintains to withhold popularity of the ICC, which it brazenly demeans, revoking the visa of its leader prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, this month, merely for asserting the ICC’s aim to analyze US service members and CIA personnel for his or her possible roles in war crimes and other abuses.
In a speech in Washington in late September, the US national security adviser, John Bolton, described the court as “invalid” and “antithetical to our kingdom’s beliefs.” He said America could “… offer no assistance to the ICC … We will allow the ICC to die on its own … for all intents and purposes; the ICC is useless to us.”
Such attitudes hardly guide the idea of Julian Assange going through justice within the US.
Dr. Kevin Bannon
London
• I turned into relieved to study Nesrine Malik’s contribution to the dialogue of Julian Assange’s extradition and the distinction between his whistleblowing on proof of US warfare crimes and the arrest warrant issued by way of Sweden over allegations of sexual attack and rape (The left continues to be blinkered about Assange, 15 April).
Like many on the left, I had been afflicted by way of Labour prioritizing the whistleblowing over the allegations of assault. If Assange is harmless to sexual attack, he honestly does not need to worry about the Swedish courts.
Dr. Gill Gregory
Norwich
• It might be top in case your report (Give priority to Assange rape declare, Javid urged, thirteen April) had quoted the important part of Diane Abbott’s interview after reporting that “Abbott came under criticism… over an interview on the Today program in which some backbench Labour MPs stated she downplayed the allegations of sexual assault.”
Abbott virtually refers to “the rape expenses, severe as they may be” before mentioning, “if the Swedish government desires to come ahead with those costs, I trust that Assange must face the crooked justice system.”
