[gotocake]

You can't argue that being holed up in an embassy is that much better than prison.

I’ve seen footage of where he was in the embassy, it’s a lot better than prison. He also didn’t have to be counted five times a day, no one was trying to rape him or stab him, he woke up and went to sleep when he wanted, ate an array of foods, and until the end had access to people who wanted to visit in person. No guards abused him, and if he wanted to he could leave. Plus, he made a choice to enter the embassy and stay there.

What's more none of that ~7 years counts towards actual jail time he'll like serve in the UK (for absconding) and the US (the publicized charges are only the beginning). The one (?) remaining charge in Sweden will quickly fall apart no doubt.

On what planet would time spent after jumping bail and seeking asylum in an embassy count toward time served? That’s... insane. As far as the charges falling apart we’ll have to wait and see, if they’re even filed. Of course if the charges were nonsense then 7 years in an embassy was a really stupid choice.

Arguments that Assange deserve protection as a journalist are (IMHO) a stretch at best. Getting a hold of classified information is one thing. Aiding in defeating security measures to obtain it is quite another story. But to me at least, the big problem is that Assange lost all credibility as a journalist over the Wikileaks handling of the 2016 election and related hackings (eg the DCC emails). You'll have a hard time arguing that Assange (and Wikileaks by extension) wasn't picking a side here and doing what they can to influence the outcome of the election. A traditional media outlet with an op-ed section is one thing. Playing an active part in illegally obtaining emails and other materials as well as arguably passing on that information to a presidential campaign is quite something else. Even Snowden filtered his classified material through reputable media outlets.

Yes, that all sounds about right. He’s also not being charged with what he carelessly published, but rather how he attempted to obtain it. Journalism isn’t even in the room.

So now we have embassy (~7 years), fighting extradition to either the US or Sweden (2+ years probably), whatever prison time he has to serve in the UK (which will run concurrently to fighting extradition no doubt as it's typical to serve that time first) and then years, perhaps many years, in US prisons. He may not see the light of day until 2030, maybe 2040.

The common factor here is his series of bad decisions.

[fsloth]

"it’s a lot better than prison"

I think our definition of imprisonment is different. To me being confined within the limits of a single house suffices. No need for that... other stuff.

I'm don't think the court will count the times his body should have been violated as a factor.

[roenxi]

> no one was trying to rape him or stab him ... no guards abused him

Raping, stabbing and abusing people is still illegal in prison, you know. It isn't supposed to be part of the process. Assange isn't a violent offender either, so it'd be a little unfortunate if he was imprisoned with people who are.

Nobody is saying that the time he spent in the embassy should or could count towards his eventual prison sentences, but the 7 years he has spent there looks a lot like a self-imposed prison sentence.

> He also didn’t have to be counted five times a day, ... he woke up and went to sleep when he wanted, ate an array of foods

Those are clearly luxuries vs being imprisoned, but if that is the margin between being imprisoned or not the distinction is really irrelevant.

> Plus, he made a choice to enter the embassy and stay there.

So instead of accepting a state-controlled imprisonment he chose a voluntary period of conditions quite similar to being imprisoned. That is compelling evidence that he was serious about fearing extradition to the US to face whatever horrors they have in store for him.

I mean, objectively, if he believed he was just going to face rape charges in Sweden none of his choices make much sense. I doubt he was going to face more than 7 years for an offense that caused no injuries and that the victims didn't think was outrageously terrible at the time it happened. If he ever claimed his accusers weren't being truthful, the only compelling evidence is that there are two of them.

[LiquidSky]

>So instead of accepting a state-controlled imprisonment he chose a voluntary period of conditions quite similar to being imprisoned.

Yes, that's what anyone who has ever fled an arrest warrant has done. It also apparently worked, as he was able to outlast the Swedish warrant (though I understand that the charges are technically suspended, not dropped).

>That is compelling evidence that he was serious about fearing extradition to the US to face whatever horrors they have in store for him.

If he was serious about that then he probably should have been very careful about not irritating his hosts, which he seems to have done flagrantly and repeatedly.

[innerspirit]

Didn't he just publish documents obtained by others (albeit illegally)?

[gotocake]

The allegation in the indictment claims otherwise, hence the indictment and extradition request. Then there’s the rape issue in Sweden, although I really have no idea how that will stand up if it’s reopened. Still, answering those questions f fact are why courts exist.