- Assange case: French uncover even more conflicts of interest? Archived Message
Posted by margo
on November 19, 2019, 11:16 am
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Some Assange supporters are saying that everyone should trust the process and lawyers and not be divided by sceptics. I tend to agree with this, in the main. But others point to upsetting revelations and wonder whether Assange - left in silence and 'profound isolation' (in his own words) - is being well served and informed by his own team? What worries some is that lawyer Jen Robinson (in Sydney a few days ago) made a public comment (paraphrased) that Arbuthnot won't be on the case, in future. This led journalists (eg Jonathan Cook) to run with headlines saying that Arbuthnot (who has heavy conflict of interest via her military-connected husband AND son) is "off the case". This headline is inadvertantly misleading, though, as journalist Mark Curtis seems to have confirmed. What did Robinson actually mean, with her one-liner that served to confuse and obscure, rather than clarify? Where is the official note that Arbuthnot's recused herself? Can anyone find it? How does it work in UK law? Can anyone find out? If a judge recuses herself halfway through a trial (due to exposure of gross conflicts), would not all her rulings to date be re-looked at and scrutinised anew? This hasn't happened. Until a very clear statement of recusal is heard, some assume that Arbuthnot is actually still on the case, overseeing the junior magistrates that run Assange's hearings for her (Baraitser et al). eg Baraitser yesterday dismissed Assange's complaint that he doesn't have proper tools to prepare his case (This is against Geneva Convention: to deny a prisoner the tools to properly prepare, isn't it?). Baraitser discarded that, saying it's not her 'jurisdiction'. If it's not her 'jurisdiction', whose is it? People (including law academics and practitioners) are increasingly following this case, so it's hardly surprising questions arise iro a decade-long hounding that has (thus far) produced only 100% disastrous outcomes for the human rights of the man at the centre of it. -- -- - - - ------- Article translation from French at Mediapart Liberez Assange: Ethiques et Medias Lawyers' conflicts of interest spread to the US? LINK https://blogs.mediapart.fr/edition/liberez-assange-ethiques-et-medias/article/181119/assange-lawyers-conflict-interest-scandal-spreads-united-states |