The claims against Assange and US attitudes to international law

Whatever Julian Assange’s legal position (Letters, 13 April), the UK authorities should be aware of the US’s approach to international law. In May 2002, the US withdrew its acceptance of the Rome statute, under which the international criminal court had been created, threatening to release – by military force if necessary – any indicted US citizens who might come to be legitimately held at The Hague. In August 2002, the US threatened to withdraw aid from countries that refused to recognise the immunity of US military personnel from ICC prosecution. Even the US-based Human Rights Watch described this as “blackmail”.

The US continues to withhold recognition of the ICC, which it openly demeans, revoking the visa of its chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, this month, merely for declaring the ICC’s intention to investigate US servicemen and CIA personnel for their possible roles in war crimes and other abuses.

In a speech in Washington last September, the US national security adviser, John Bolton, described the court as “invalid” and “antithetical to our nation’s ideals”. He said the US would “… provide no assistance to the ICC … We will let the ICC die on its own … for all intents and purposes, the ICC is dead to us.”

Such attitudes hardly support the idea of Julian Assange facing justice in the US.
Dr Kevin Bannon
London

• I was relieved to read Nesrine Malik’s contribution to the discussion of Julian Assange’s extradition and the difference between his whistleblowing on evidence of US war crimes and the arrest warrant issued by Sweden over allegations of sexual assault and rape (The left is still blinkered about Assange, 15 April).

Like many on the left, I have been troubled by Labour prioritising the whistleblowing over the allegations of assault. If Assange is innocent of sexual assault, he surely need not fear the Swedish courts.
Dr Gill Gregory
Norwich

• It would have been good if your report (Give priority to Assange rape claim, Javid urged, 13 April) had quoted the key part of Diane Abbott’s interview after reporting that “Abbott was criticised … over an interview on the Today programme in which some backbench Labour MPs said she downplayed the allegations of sexual assault.”

Abbott clearly refers to “the rape charges, serious as they are”, before stating “if the Swedish government wants to come forward with those charges I believe that Assange should face the criminal justice system”.
Ian Sinclair
London

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