The Swedish media war on Assange – ”Australian pig”, ”retard”, ”white-haired crackpot”, ”scumbag”
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has claimed that the media climate in Sweden has become so "hostile" against him that it may now jeopardize his right to a fair trial. These allegations have been strongly rejected by several Swedish officials, but a brief glance at recent Swedish media coverage on Assange seems to show that they are not entirely without ground. - In a controversial statement last week, Swedish Minister of Social Affairs Göran Hägglund called Assange a ”coward” and a ”pitiful wretch” for taking refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Hägglund also alleged that Assange was afraid of having ”his case tried by the court”, even though Assange has not been charged with any crime and has not been summoned to court. He added that Assange was a ”scumbag” if the accusations against him were true. Another official reaction came from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an angry attempt to explain why Assange cannot be questioned in London: ”You do not dictate the terms if you are a suspect. Get it?”, the Ministry declared via its official Twitter channel. The bulk of the attacks on Assange, however, do not come from government officials, but from journalists and prominent intellectuals. The four major Swedish newspapers – Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet and Expressen – have all roundly condemned the Wikileaks founder, using very strong language. A number of examples are provided below to illustrate the general tone of Swedish media opinion on Assange.
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