Posts Tagged ‘Sweden’
September 10th, 2012
Ethiopia has
pardoned two Swedish journalists charged with supporting terrorism and will release them soon, a government source said on Monday. Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were sentenced to 11 years in prison in
October 2011, after illegally entering the country with ethnic rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The chairman of the Swedish Union of Journalists, Jonas Nordling, said that the sentence aimed to deter journalists from investigating alleged human rights abuses in the Ogaden region, adding there was
no evidence to support the pair’s conviction on terror charges.
June 14th, 2012
Wikileaks founder
Julian Assange has been
denied a request to re-open his appeal against extradition to Sweden. In a statement issued today, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court said that the decision to reject the request made by Dinah Rose, Assange’s lawyer, was “unanimous”. On 30 May, the court
decided to allow Assange’s extradition by a 5-2 majority. Swedish authorities want to question Assange about two sex crime allegations brought against him. The activist fears that the possible charges are “politically motivated”, and has attorneys have announced plans to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
December 27th, 2011
An Ethiopian court has
sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism after the pair illegally entered the country with an ethnic Somali rebel group.
Photojournalist Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye were
detained by Ethiopian security forces in July while travelling with the outlawed separatist group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, and were put on
trial in October. The chairman of the Swedish Union of Journalists, Jonas Nordling,
has been reported as saying that the sentence is aimed at deterring journalists from investigating alleged human rights abuses in the tense Ogaden region, adding that there is no evidence to support the pair’s conviction on terror charges.
November 2nd, 2011
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lost his
UK High Court appeal against extradition to
Sweden. Assange faces
accusations of rape and sexual assault after a visit to Stockholm in August 2010.
The judgement was handed down to the 40-year-old Australian by two High Court judges, following a European arrest warrant. Assange’s lawyers will take 14 days to decide whether to appeal further, and if he is denied the right to appeal, British law enforcement officers will arrange for his removal to Sweden within 10 days.
July 5th, 2011
Swedish journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, were arrested by troops in
Ethiopia when they were found travelling with rebels from the
Ogaden National Liberation Front. The Ethiopian government has branded the ONLF a terrorist organisation, 15 individuals were killed when the troops ambushed the group. The two freelancers entered the country to report about allegations of the torture and rape of locals. Schibbye and Persson are currently being treated for minor injuries and
could face trial later this week.
November 18th, 2010
A Swedish prosecutor today requested that Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks whistleblower website, be detained for interrogation concerning a re-opened sexual assault investigation. The application could lead to an international arrest warrant.
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August 9th, 2010
A Swedish newspaper has claimed that
Wikileaks is
not fully protected by Swedish law and so could be vulnerable to demands to reveal its sources. Håkan Rustand, deputy to the acting Chancellor of Justice, claims that simply placing Wikileaks’ server in Sweden does not mean that it is automatically protected by Swedish law. The article in the Sydsvenskam newspaper claims that Wikileaks does not have the necessary licence to publish material in Sweden, thus leaving it
only partially protected by law.
May 24th, 2010
Eritrea has held Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak without charge for eight years. The west must stand up to this brutal regime, says his brother Esayas Isaak
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