Interpol Really Couldn't Find A Photo Of Julian Assange In Issuing An Arrest Warrant?

from the gee,-sounds-rushed... dept

As you've probably heard by now, Interpol has issued a "red notice" for the arrest of Wikileaks' Julian Assange, stemming from the sexual assault charges against him in Sweden. I'll leave it to others to analyze the actual merits of the charges against Assange, or the fact that Interpol has gotten involved at this stage, but did want to highlight one oddity. Assange has been everywhere lately and is all over the news and the internet. How is it possible that Interpol couldn't dig up a photo of him to include with the notice?
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Filed Under: arrest, julian assange
Companies: interpol


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  1. icon
    Marcus Carab (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 6:23pm

    Publicity rights?
    ;)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Dark Helmet (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:25pm

    Re:

    Boom, headshot....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:33pm

    ???

    http://www.google.com/images?q=Julian+assange

    http://www.bing.com/images?q=Julian+assange

    ps: OMG! the search string for the Bing engine is the same as the Google one LoL

    i.e.: /images?q=Julian+assange

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Sarah Black (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:38pm

    Re: ???

    You cannot be absolutely certain that those photos are really of the guy Interpol is looking for...
    http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=159559&catid=58

    Interpol may have just had a "bad typing day" and are really be looking for "Julian Asange".

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:40pm

    Copyright

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    DogBreath, 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:41pm

    Re:

    I'm sure they could get a picture of him from his Facebook account, but then Interpol might get stuck with all those false Friend Finder ads.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    umbrau44 (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:41pm

    Perhaps they couldn't get the copyright on a photo for him.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 7:58pm

    They might only be allowed to use police mugshots, or at least only official government photos.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. icon
    Nick Dynice (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:05pm

    Well if they can't find a damn photo of him I am relieved that they probably won't be able to find him.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:14pm

    Re:

    "Publicity rights?"

    You are so off on that one.

    Interpol is located in Lyon France they had their internet connection shut off due to Hadopi. It seems they were downloading infringing Taco Fondue videos starring Nicolas Sarkozys (the president of france) wife Carla Bruni Sarkozy.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:15pm

    Re: Re: ???

    comedy>

    Of course I can, I took his name from Wikipedia :)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange

    There is even and audio pronunciation of his name there.


    C'mon now, Wiki is not to be trusted?

    \comedy>

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    aerilus, 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:16pm

    well Wikipedia has one and all of their stuff is under creative commons so maybe they are just slow. or maybe they pissed off the it dept and they want fix the web interface because they are being dbags

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Julian_Assange_%28Norway,_March_2010%29.jpg

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:20pm

    Re:

    I think you are right.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:23pm

    w00t! the interpo-po can't find a photo?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:46pm

    On a serious note though.

    The charges against him according to some sources seems a bit of a stretch, like the woman claiming it started consensual and when the condom broke he refused to stop the action and that turned the thing into rape?

    I can only imagine what the other charge looks like but it seems to me that there are some people that are working very hard to discredit the man.

    The next time he should just get a hooker it cost less.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. icon
    Failure Happening (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 8:56pm

    Not really sure about Interpol involvement...

    Surely this is politically motivated...

    Extract from the ICPO-INTERPOL Constitution and General Regulations:

    It is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.

    http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/LegalMaterials/constitution/constitutionGenReg/con stitution.asp

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 9:58pm

    Re:

    Yes, refusing to stop does, in fact, turn it into rape.

    If it happened.

    Which I doubt, since he was tailed the entire time he was there, and he was speaking at the conference he was there for when the rape supposedly occurred.

    That's why a judge originally dismissed the charges.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    DCX2, 30 Nov 2010 @ 10:06pm

    The merits of the case...

    Are there *any* details about these allegations, at all? The only thing I see anywhere is "broken condom".

    What is with that? The media *loves* a salacious scandal. When Spitzer got pwned, we knew the hooker's name, where it went down, we even knew how much she cost!

    I would think that if Assange actually did terrible things, they would be plastered all over the Internet. That they are not may imply that the release of actual details would take the wind out of the sails they're trying to use.

    Without any details at all, I believe that the incident is probably embarrassing and shameful, but not malicious.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    DCX2, 30 Nov 2010 @ 10:10pm

    Re: Re:

    Okay, so you're in the middle of some hot action, and it breaks. She asks you to stop.

    Do you...just stop? Or do you try to persuade her? "Come on, it already broke so it's too late, we might as well finish"

    Is it wrong to ask to continue? If she agrees, is it still rape, even though she gave consent again? What if she regrets agreeing to it later?

    The complete lack of details is totally uncharacteristic of the media. It makes me think that the truth isn't really as bad as what people think when they hear "Julian Assange is wanted for rape!!!!!111eleven"

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. icon
    Jay (profile), 30 Nov 2010 @ 10:21pm

    Re:

    Let's not forget that he's a witness in another case. How that works I have no idea.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2010 @ 11:42pm

    Sexual Assult

    "Sexual Assault" --- democracy's new heresy/sedition laws.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. icon
    cannonfodder (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 12:50am

    War Criminals Gettin Away With It

    what about charging the USA, UK, officials with war crimes?

    remember kids its only terrorism when they do it, our government/military murder, torture and rape with the justification of god...

    A great interview on the topic with Noam Chompsky can be found here noam is at 26min:

    FTA: Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership"

    http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11/30/noam_chomsky_wikileaks_cables_reveal_profound

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. identicon
    Anonymous, 1 Dec 2010 @ 12:54am

    Any malice towards, or prosecution of, the entity of Wikileaks is wrong.

    While I believe the taking of any artistic creation without permission is horribly wrong and insulting, that has nothing to do with the issue of freedom of the press.

    Which this is.

    Sacrosanct.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  24. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:07am

    Re: Re: Re:

    If someone says no, or stop, you stop. Period. It doesn't matter what you're doing, or what gender you are. You stop.

    Once you've stopped, and are physically unattached to your partner, then it's appropriate to discuss it.

    As for the minutia of the claim, there were a ton of details at the time, but it was dismissed by a Swedish judge a while back, so the fervor died down.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  25. icon
    BearGriz72 (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:11am

    Re: Re:

    Rimshot? / Headshot(Photographic)? / Headshot(Ballistic)?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  26. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:12am

    Re:

    Here's an old HuffPo article about the initial rape case.

    A Stockholm prosecutor issued the arrest warrant on Friday, saying Assange was suspected of rape and molestation in two separate cases. But chief prosecutor Eva Finne withdrew the warrant within 24 hours.

    "I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape," Finne said in a brief statement.

    Assange was in Sweden partly to apply for a publishing certificate to make sure the website, which has servers in Sweden, can take full advantage of Swedish laws protecting whistle-blowers.

    He also spoke at a seminar hosted by the Christian faction of the opposition Social Democratic party and announced he would write bimonthly columns for a left-wing Swedish newspaper.


    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/21/julian-assange-rape-case-_n_690009.html

    link to this | view in thread ]

  27. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:16am

    Just to clarify

    Julian Assange is wanted for arrest for

    RED HOT SEX IN SWEDEN

    AND

    ***************NOT*****************
    ***************FOR*****************
    *************HELPING** *************
    *************HILLARY***************
    ***************DO******************
    *********** ****HER*****************
    ***************JOB*****************

    ************ETHICALLY**************


    Just a FYI.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  28. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:16am

    Re: Re:

    And here's another...

    A senior Swedish prosecutor reopened a rape investigation against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday, the latest twist to a puzzling case in which prosecutors of different ranks have overruled each other.

    Investigators have not released details about either case, though a police report obtained by the AP shows both women had met Assange in connection with a seminar he gave in Stockholm on Aug. 14. The report shows the women filed their complaints together six days later.

    Wikileaks made headlines around the world July 25 when it released tens of thousands of pages of secret U.S. documents about Afghanistan.

    Assange is seeking legal protection for WikiLeaks in Sweden, one of the countries where the group says it has servers. The Swedish Migration Board has confirmed that Assange has applied for a work and residence permit in the Scandinavian country.


    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/01/julian-assange-rape-inves_n_701578.html

    link to this | view in thread ]

  29. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:17am

    Re: The merits of the case...

    I posted some of the articles and details above.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  30. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 1:18am

    Re: The merits of the case...

    Oh, it also helps to know that the Swedish legal term 'sexual molestation' is apparently more like the American legal term 'sexual harassment'. So... Yeah.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  31. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 2:41am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    50 no's and a yesh, still means yesh ;-)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  32. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 2:43am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    50 no's and a yesh, still means yesh ;-)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  33. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 2:48am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    No, it doesn't.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  34. icon
    Rose M. Welch (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 2:49am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Well, on second thought, it would depend on the order in which those 51 answers were presented. :P

    link to this | view in thread ]

  35. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 2:50am

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Yesh, it does and yesh, you will.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  36. identicon
    hmm, 1 Dec 2010 @ 2:54am

    whats the bet the US is hoping for an accidental "extraordinary rendition" to somewhere like syria? (Land of sun, fun and waterboarding)

    Somehow believing this will stop the wiki data thats already out, and not push other people to release even MORE documents, this time uncensored.....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  37. icon
    Miles (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 3:26am

    Could it be...

    ...that Interpol not want to play the DoJ's game of "Stop Wikileaks" and purposely refused the photo as to make it more difficult to find him?

    Just a thought.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  38. identicon
    Richard Kulawiec, 1 Dec 2010 @ 4:42am

    Doesn't matter if it sticks...

    ...it will achieve its goal of shifting the press narrative. The MSM -- who have forgotten how to practice "journalism", which is why there's a need for entities like Wikileaks to exist, will now ignore the important story (what's in the data) in favor of the salacious juicy scandal. They'll frown and express grave concern and make sure that this headline is in the omnipresent screen crawl. And the underlying purpose ("Wikileaks == rapists") will be achieved.

    What we are seeing here is quite similar to what we're seeing from the MAFIAA et.al.: it is the reaction of the soon-to-be-extinct, who lack the intellectual ability to adapt and so are fighting a losing battle against evolution. They're already obsolete, and somewhere inside they know it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  39. identicon
    abc gum, 1 Dec 2010 @ 5:01am

    Re: ???

    Call in the lawyers.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  40. identicon
    Wolfy, 1 Dec 2010 @ 5:28am

    I'm wondering how the media still keep referring to "documents"... I have no doubt that the charges are politically motivated, and Interpol is responding to external pressure in issuing this "notice". "Photo Unavailable" is one small way of letting your organizational displeasure be known.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  41. identicon
    Michael, 1 Dec 2010 @ 5:37am

    hmmm

    Didn't I just read that there are no actual charges, they just want to interview him? How does this get an interpol warrant? I know he can't be extradited because there are no actual charges filed... this whole thing smells like a smear.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  42. identicon
    Michael, 1 Dec 2010 @ 5:40am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    Meanwhile, back in the real world...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  43. identicon
    basasa, 1 Dec 2010 @ 5:45am

    It's great that Interpol is now going after sexual assaulters!

    The other day a guy touched my junk in the airport, can I have the Interpol after him too?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  44. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 5:56am

    Re: Re:

    Unless she goes to bed with a recorder device or was in a threesome I find it rather difficult to prove rape in this type of situation, unless the guy was really brutal enough to leave some type of physical evidence.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  45. icon
    DH's Love Child (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 6:18am

    Re: It's great that Interpol is now going after sexual assaulters!

    The other day a guy touched my junk in the airport, can I have the Interpol after him too?


    OMG!! That is the funniest thing I've read all week!!

    BTW, you owe me a new monitor as I just drenched mine in coffee.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  46. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 6:31am

    Re:

    No! Copyrights!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  47. icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 7:11am

    Re: Doesn't matter if it sticks...

    RIAA and the MPAA probably know that the record labels and networks are on the verge. But they will continue to milk them for every single dollar they can.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  48. icon
    BigKeithO (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 7:31am

    Re: hmmm

    Why is Interpol issuing an arrest warrant for an **alleged** rapist in a domestic rape case?

    The whole thing reeks of setup, the timing is convenient as well isn't it?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  49. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 7:47am

    They had to hurry and issue the warrant. No one had time to do research. The PM's and the A-Holes were screaming for blood.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  50. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 10:14am

    Re: Re: The merits of the case...

    In the Swedish legal system though, 'guilty' is actually spelled 'male' if the case headline has the word Sex or any variation thereof in it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  51. icon
    Jay (profile), 1 Dec 2010 @ 10:35am

    Julian Assange's case

    Link

    Swedish bloggers uncovered the full story in a few hours. The complaint was lodged by a radical feminist Anna Ardin, 30, a one-time intern in the Swedish Foreign Service. She’s spokeswoman for Broderskapsrörelsen, the liberation theology-like Christian organization affiliated with Sweden's Social Democratic Party. She had invited Julian Assange to a crayfish party, and they had enjoyed some quality time together. When Ardin discovered that Julian shared a similar experience with a 20-year-old woman a day or two later, she obtained the younger woman’s cooperation in declaring before the police that changing partners in so rapid a manner constituted a sort of deceit. And deceit is a sort of rape. The prosecutor immediately issued an arrest warrant, and the press was duly notified. Once the facts were examined in the cold light of day, the charge of rape seemed ludicrous and was immediately dropped. In the meantime the younger woman, perhaps realizing how she had been used, withdrew her report, leaving the vengeful Anna Ardin standing alone.

    This is sounding more and more conspiratorial against a guy that is, if anything, unconventional.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  52. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 12:31pm

    How long until someone substitutes a picture of other dubious characters. Hey that Asange guy looks a lot like Dick Cheyney....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  53. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2010 @ 8:56pm

    Re:

    Hey Dick Cheyney looks a lot like satan...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  54. identicon
    john, 2 Dec 2010 @ 1:58am

    Julian Assange, you are not alone
    http://www.freeassange.com

    link to this | view in thread ]

  55. identicon
    yoli, 10 Dec 2010 @ 3:30am

    words

    interesting words

    link to this | view in thread ]


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