In the news

One thing I don't understand is why, if he is to stand trial in Sweden for allegations of rape which took place in Sweden, is he in danger of being taken to Gitmo and tortured for ~800 days?

i.e. presumably we, being the lapdog of the USA, would have happily packed him up and sent him over in response to an extradition request- but we have not done so, we were looking at extraditing him to Sweden.

Why are the Swedes assumed to be chomping at the bit to post him to the states? Because they won't be able to make the rape allegations stick, so are thinking "may as spoil his day somehow, where's the CIA guy"?

From a pro-Assange website:

*The UK’s extradition treaty does not have the temporary surrender (’conditional release’) clause. The UK’s judicial review process, while far from perfect, has a number of practical review mechanisms. The nearest equivalent case, of Gary McKinnon - a UK citizen who has been charged for hacking US military systems - has been opposed in the courts for 8 years.

Public opinion and the media (to a greater extent) are more sympathetic to Julian Assange in the UK than in Sweden. Public pressure could draw out the process of extradition to the United States in the UK. In Sweden the media climate is hostile (see Media climate in Sweden) due to the sex allegations. Public outcry would be significantly weaker and therefore less likely to stand in the way of a strategically convenient extradition.

In the UK, Julian Assange is better able to defend himself, muster support and understand the legal procedures against him. In Sweden on the other hand, the language barrier prevents him from effectively challenging the actions against.

The UK is politically better positioned to withstand pressure from the United States than Sweden. Sweden is a small country of nine million people close to Russia. It has grown increasingly dependent on the United States. In recent years Sweden has complied with directives from the United States in a manner that has not been scrutinised by Parliament, as has been revealed by the disclosed diplomatic cables (see Political Interference).*

http://justice4assange.com/US-Extradition.html#WUKJA