Julian Assange smear campaign?

Don't get me wrong. I believe that men who rape or sexually assault women are the lowest of creatures and should be treated as such. Women should also not fear to tell the truth when they have been raped and should be treated with decency when telling their story.

However, in rare cases, the man being accused is innocent, and one cannot, therefore, assume that all allegations are true.

In the case of the rape allegations against Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, a few things should make one suspicious. It seems like he did have sex with the two women, and although perhaps morally questionable, there is nothing illegal about "not phoning them back".

According to an article in The Daily Mail:

One source close to the investigation said the woman had insisted he wear a condom, but the following morning he made love to her without one.

This was the basis for the rape charge. But after the event she seemed unruffled enough to go out to buy food for his breakfast.

Her only concern was about leaving him alone in her flat. ‘I didn’t feel I knew him very well,’ she explained.

They ate in an atmosphere that was tense, though she said in her statement that she tried to lighten the mood by joking about the possibility that she might be pregnant.

They parted on friendly terms and she bought his train ticket back to Stockholm. When she asked if he would call, he said: ‘Yes, I will.’

But he did not and neither did he answer her calls.

Note that "they parted on friendly terms". it did not turn ugly until the woman got into contact with the second woman that Assange had been seeing.

The drama took a bizarre and ultimately sensational turn after she called the office of Woman A, whom she had briefly met at the seminar.

The two women talked and realised to their horror and anger that they had both been victims of his charm.

The issue of unprotected sex left a fear of disease. It is believed that they both asked him to take a test for STDs and he refused.

Woman B was especially anxious about the possibility of HIV and pregnancy.

And it was in this febrile state that the women, who barely knew each other, walked into a police station and began to tell their stories.

If this is true, pressing charges against Assange for "breaking their hearts" is hardly the right way to go, and if they were worried about STDs or being pregnant, there is health care services one can turn to. Why the need to go to the police to find out how to force him to be tested?

Woman A said afterwards that she had not wanted to press charges but had gone to support the younger woman, who wanted police advice on how to get Assange to take a medical test.

Wow, seriously, is this it? The definition of rape is "sexual intercourse with a woman by a man without her consent and chiefly by force or deception." Well, as far as I can see, there was no force and she was in consent.

However, the women's lawyer stated that the women were upset by how the case had been handled.

This case is a regressive sign for women that it’s not worth reporting when something like this happens,’ she said.

Well, yeah, why should women report that they've been raped when they have not?

According to some, however, men bear a collective guilt against women, and ironically enough, one of these extremist feminist is Claes Borgström: the two women's complainer. He once stated that men have a collective guilt for violence against women. (Wikipedia)

Furthermore, one of the women, as well as Claes Borgström, are politically active in the Social Democratic party, which makes one question their neutrality in the matter.

In the end, the allegations do not really seem to be true, but it is efficient smear campaigning against Assange. Very convenient...