"So this is yet another ploy to shield Assange from standing trial for one count of rape and one count of sexual assault?"
No. How could it be, when Assange has NOT BEEN CHARGED with any crime, in Sweden?
The European arrest warrant was issued on "suspicion of 'rape of a lesser degree,' unlawful coercion and two cases of sexual molestation," but that is not the same thing as being charged with these offences. (Much of the controversy surrounding the European Arrest Warrant centred around the fact that it was issued for "suspicion of offences" rather than for charges for any alleged offences.)
If Assange were extradited to Sweden, then he wouldn't be faced with a trial: he'd be faced with answering police questions that *might* lead to charges and then a trial. And then possible extradition to the US.
Of course, the Swedish police had plenty of time to ask Assange these questions in the weeks before he left Sweden for the UK, and Assange said he would answer any questions the Swedish police had for him via phone or video-link from the UK, but this offer wasn't good enough for the politically-appointed prosecutor.
(I assume you know that the usual apolitical prosecutor released Assange, saying he had no case to answer. The case only became serious when the elected prosecutor - an elected cabinet post, akin to the Attorney General in Australia - decided that Assange must be guilty of something and asked him to return to Sweden to answer yet more questions.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
