Redaktionen

Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US to face charges of espionage and of hacking government computers, a British judge has decided.

Lawyers for US authorities are to appeal against the ruling, which rejected arguments that the WikiLeaks co-founder would not get a fair trial in the US but blocked extradition on the basis that procedures in prisons there would not prevent him from potentially taking his own life. […]

But turning to evidence by eminent medical experts about Assange’s precarious mental health, she said: “The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man, who is genuinely fearful about his future.”

“I find that the mental condition of Mr Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” she concluded. […]

In her ruling, which triggered elation among Assange’s supporters that he was not being extradited, but dismay that it was solely based on health grounds, the judge said she had no reason to doubt that “the usual constitutional and procedural protections” would be applied to a trial he might face in the US.

Sending Assange across the Atlantic would not breach a bar on extradition for “political offences” she said, and she had no reason to doubt that “the usual constitutional and procedural protections” would be applied to a trial he might face in the US. She sided with the argument of lawyers for US authorities who had denied Assange was being prosecuted merely for publishing diplomatic cables and military files. Her ruling was that his actions, if proven, would “amount to offences in this jurisdiction that would not be protected by his right to freedom of speech”. Läs artikel

A London court today will announce its verdict on whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be extradited to the United States. The proceedings have been described by critics as unfair. […]

For German Green party member of parliament Margit Stumpp, the court case is an ”acid test for the western community of values.” Together with lawmakers from the Social Democrats, the conservative Christian Democrats, the socialist Left party, and the Free Democrats, Stumpp established the cross-party working group ”Freedom for Julian Assange.”Stumpp told DW that she sees ”the rule of law being violated” in the extradition procedures. That started with the fact that she was unable to receive access to the court process as an observer. ”I’ve often been to Turkey, and there I had no problems getting into the courtroom,” Stumpp said, an unflattering comparison for the UK. […]

Nils Melzer is not only the UN special rapporteur on torture. He also teaches international law at the University of Glasgow and knows his way around British law. His verdict on how Julian Assange has been dealt with is damning. ”The legal proceeding in itself is not respecting the basic standards of human rights, of due process and the rule of law.” The motivation is obvious in the face of revelations of American ”corruption and war crimes and other criminal conduct,” said Melzer: ”The United States is trying to criminalize investigative journalism … And the British system, unfortunately, is in collusion with the United States.” On December 21, appealed to US President Donald Trump to pardon Assange in his final days at the White House. Läs artikel

After seven long years of negotiations, China and the European Union announced on December 30 that they have reached a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). It is a hugely consequential event for the world economy and international politics. […]

The agreement envisages that China will open up to provide an unprecedented market access for EU investors, giving them certainty and predictability for their operations and a level playing field with transparency and accountability, apart from committing on environment and climate and on labour standards. The agreement also provides for a robust enforcement and monitoring mechanism. 

The European Commission’s press release outlining the key elements of the agreement is here. The Chinese commentaries describe the agreement as “an extraordinary boost for pragmatic cooperation” between the EU and its largest trading partner China based on win-win approach, to mutual benefit, being “the basic logic in the era of globalisation”. (here and here) […]

In geopolitical terms, the CAI flags that Europe intends to be strategically independent. It shatters India’s foreign policy assumptions that Europe is preparing to join the US-led “Indo-Pacific” strategy to contain China. The heart of the matter is that Europe is backing out of the US project for a binary world.  Läs artikel

South Korea said it scrambled fighter jets in response to an intrusion into its air defence identification zone by 19 Russian and Chinese military aircraft on Tuesday.

Four Chinese warplanes entered the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) followed by 15 Russian aircraft, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The South Korean military dispatched air force fighters to take tactical measures. The South Korean military said the Chinese military had informed South Korea that its planes were carrying out routine training before the Chinese aircraft entered the KADIZ. Läs artikel

Those who expected Jean Castex to announce a French military withdrawal from the Sahel will be at their expense. No indication has come during the Prime Minister’s visit to Chad over the past two days. Jean Castex insisted on  the will intact  of France to fight Islamist terrorism. He also paid tribute to the memory of the three soldiers who died Monday in Mali and for whom the national tribute will take place on Monday.[…]

Same feeling among politicians.  After seven years, despite our great tactical successes, the situation is not developing favorably on the spot. We see a heavy balance sheet, too heavy, and a significant financial cost for the Nation , recently judged the deputy Thomas Gassilloud (presidential majority) by suggesting to  stay otherwise, […] in a less heavy format ”.

Maybe we’ll have to wait until the force Takuba be fully operational before seeing the force format Barkhane evolve downwards? The horizon is uncertain, the arrival of certain European contingents still being delayed … Läs artikel

Two French soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in northeastern Mali on Saturday, just days after three others died in similar fashion.

Their deaths brought to 50 the number of French soldiers killed in the West African nation since France first intervened in 2013 to help drive back jihadist forces, according to army staff.

President Emmanuel Macron ”learnt with great sadness” of the deaths of Sergeant Yvonne Huynh and Brigadier Loic Risser in the Menaka region, his office said in a statement. Läs artikel

[…] Geografien ligger fast. Småstaten Norges naboskap med stormakten Russland, har vært og vil forbli en sentral faktor i utformingen av norsk forsvars- og sikkerhetspolitikk, uavhengig av den politiske utviklingen i Moskva. Det samme gjelder Norges beliggenhet som kyststat til de ressursrike og militærstrategisk viktige nordlige havområder.

Av det jeg vil kalle semipermanente faktorer som er formende for Norges strategiske stilling, er for det første alliansen med USA i NATO. For det annet er det utviklingen av det russiske basekomplekset på Kolahalvøya som hjemmehavn for den russiske nordflåten og Russlands strategiske ubåter, Russlands kjernefysiske annenslagsevne, som plasserer Norge i spenningsfeltet mellom Russland og USA. Når spenningen mellom de to stiger, reduseres Norges utenrikspolitiske handlingsrom i nordområdene, og naboforholdet til Russland blir mer anstrengt og konfliktfylt. Faren for væpnet konflikt i nordområdene øker. Samtidig er det ingen ting som tyder på At Russland har territorielle ambisjoner i Norge.[…]

Kommisjonen bør vurdere om omkostningene for Norge ved å slutte seg til USAs og EUs sanksjoner mot Russland, i form av svekket samarbeid med Russland på områder hvor Norge og Russland har felles interesser, og i form av ytterligere økt spenning i nordområdene i strid med tradisjonell norsk lavspenningspolitikk, står i forhold til omkostningene ved at Norge ikke solidarisk stiller seg bak sanksjonene og dermed bryter Vestens felles front mot Russland. Bidrar sanksjonene til å øke europeisk sikkerhet slik at Norge bør holde fast ved dem, eller bidrar de til å svekke europeisk sikkerhet slik at Norge bør arbeide for å få sanksjonene opphevet. Hva er målsettingen med sanksjonene? Å tvinge Russland til å tilbakeføre Krim til Ukraina? Er det realistisk? Å straffe Russland for å ha endret grensene i Europa med makt? Hvordan står det seg i forhold til USAs og NATOs anneksjon av serbiske Kosovo og opprettelse av en ny stat på Serbias territorium, uten FN-mandat? […]

”En helt annen tilnærming er å gå inn i, og etterprøve forutsetningene for, det norske forsvarskonseptet med utgangspunkt i at Forsvarets oppgave ikke primært er å kunne slåss, men å bidra til å forhindre at Norge kommer i krig. Et slikt alternativt forsvarskonsept med hovedvekt på å bidra til å forhindre krig, og redusert ambisjonsnivå når det gjelder evne til å utkjempe en krig om den likevel skulle komme, krever innsikt i hvordan Forsvaret faktisk bidrar til å forhindre krig, hvordan småstatens militærmakt best kan omsettes i politisk innflytelse. Det krever at man tenker «forsvar på norsk».” Läs artikel

[…] Men den 20 oktober offentliggjorde Post- och telestyrelsen (PTS) att Huawei inte skulle få leverera utrustning till de svenska 5G-näten, med hänvisning till Försvarsmakten och Säpo. Det var ett beslut som överraskade hela den svenska telekombranschen – ingen hade fått några sådana signaler under den säkerhetsgranskning som pågått under året.

Dagen efter sade Börje Ekholm, som jobbat med Kina i decennier och sitter i e-handelsjätten Alibabas styrelse, till DN att han inte vill uttala sig om politik och nationell säkerhet.

Men åsikter hade han uppenbarligen, och vände sig direkt till Sveriges utrikeshandelsminister Anna Hallberg, precis som han talar med regeringar över hela världen. För telekom är förstås också politik och kräver ett nätverk på högsta nivå. Tanken var förstås att detta som vanligt skulle ske under radarn – nu kunde DN:s reportrar använda offentlighetsprincipen och få ut sms-konversationen. […]

Den visar en tydligt pressad och vredgad vd, som ber om hjälp av svenska regeringen och ifrågasätter den ansvariga myndigheten. Han verkar anse att den svenska nationalklenod han basar för har utsatts för det som militärerna kallar ”friendly fire”, att bli beskjuten av de egna styrkorna. Då blir strategin att hjälpa sin värsta motståndare – inte i första hand för att Huawei ska lyckas i Sverige utan för att Ericsson ska kunna fortsätta sina framgångar i Kina. Läs artikel

[…] USA bearbetade sina allierade på flera plan – framför allt genom samtal på olika nivåer och hot om uteblivna underrättelsesamarbeten.

Australien portade Huawei först – och drabbades av handelssanktioner av Kina. Det skickade stötvågor in andra västländers regeringars kärnor där nästan alla är starkt beroende av handel från en av världens största marknader.

Det blev nu uppenbart: valet stod ytterst mellan Kina och USA och kunde få stora konsekvenser. I det läget drog USA på full gas för att utesluta Huawei från västvärlden. […]

Åter till Sverige och PTS beslut hösten 2020. Den 19 november satt Säpos generaldirektör Klas Friberg och Försvarsmaktens ÖB Micael Bydén på ett seminarium anordnat av Saab. De förde fram ett gemensamt budskap: Beslutet att utesluta Huawei hade fattats självständigt och utan påtryckningar. På en fråga om USA utövat påtryckningar sade Klas Friberg:

– De har inte satt något starkt tryck men de tycker att det är viktigt att Sverige inte är alltför beroende av ZTE och Huawei.

– Vi viker inte ner oss och det är en helt självständig bedömning från den myndighet som ska besluta och det är PTS.

Samtidigt kan DN berätta att USA utövade påtryckningar mot politiker på hög nivå inför beslutet.

– Amerikanerna har ju hört av sig till oss och påpekat att de tycker att det är viktigt, säger DN:s källa som är politiker på hög nivå och som haft insyn i frågorna. Läs artikel

The Malian authorities on Thursday charged six figures, including a former prime minister, with seeking to mount a coup, a move that came after a military putsch in August, their lawyers said. The public prosecutor’s office in the capital Bamako said in a statement that six people were under investigation for “plotting against the government, criminal association, insulting the head of state and complicity”. A group of lawyers defending the six said the individuals, who include Boubou Cisse (photo above), the last prime minister before the August putsch, had been charged with an “attempted coup”. Five of the six have been detained in custody, except for Cisse, whose whereabouts are unknown, the public prosecutor said. […]

On Monday, security sources said a number of people had been detained on December 21, while the prosecutor’s office said a “preliminary inquiry” had been opened “relating to violations of state security”.Those detained, the sources said, included Aguibou Tall, Cisse’s half-brother; the secretary of the president’s office, Sekou Traore; and Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, a campaigner and radio presenter who is popular
among young Malians. In the runup to their arrest, social media said there had been a scheme to “destabilise” Mali’s post-coup transitional institutions. Läs artikel

[…] Russia’s relations with non-NATO countries in the Baltic Sea region—Sweden and Finland—have also become markedly strained. Stockholm has just decided on a major increase in its defense spending, citing the Russian threat. Moscow, of course, has always considered Sweden an informal member of NATO. What is new is that Finland, Russia’s direct neighbor and a neutral–friendly partner during the Cold War, is now cooperating very closely with the United States and NATO. The Baltic Sea has largely become a NATO lake.

In response, Moscow reversed the post-Cold War policy that had long seen its western flank as its safest. New military formations have been established. The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, rather than becoming a laboratory for close Russian-European cooperation, has been rebuilt as a military fortress, a behind-the-lines West Berlin on steroids. While Russians worry about defending Kaliningrad, Poland and the Baltic countries fear a Russian strike to cut off the Baltics by seizing the Suwalki gap.

What we are witnessing here is not a new Cold War, but a new kind of confrontation, which is also fraught with high risks. The most likely danger is no longer a massive cross-border invasion or a large-scale nuclear attack, but an inadvertent direct collision between Russian and Western forces where they operate close to each other, or a miscalculation by one side linked to misperception about the other. Läs artikel