ROME - The 'consensual' arrest of Julian Assange came at the end of tumultuous weeks during which the circle around the founder of Wikileaks tightened, causing a stir in diplomatic circles around the world. On November 18, the Swedish prosecutor unexpectedly reopened a case against the Australian - accused by two Swedish women of rape, harassment, and coercion - and on the same day, the Stockholm court issued an international arrest warrant (in absentia) against the 39-year-old 'hacker'.

The charges were formulated at the end of August, after the complaint of the two alleged victims. On September 1st, the Swedish prosecutor decided to proceed with the investigation, but on September 19th, Assange was granted the freedom to leave Sweden, a country chosen as a base for the protection enjoyed by journalists.

The 'father' of Wikileaks has always rejected the accusations, believing to be a victim of a smear campaign due to the avalanche of revelations contained in the 'cables' transmitted by over 260 US embassies to the State Department. On November 3, he went on the counterattack, stating he was ready to sue the Swedish authorities for the 'damage to his image' caused by the investigation. However, on December 1, Interpol issued a 'red notice,' an international arrest warrant, described as 'ridiculous' and 'unusual' by Assange's lawyers, behind which many saw the intertwined intervention of multiple intelligence services.

And the story has taken on the contours of a mystery, with Assange untraceable but 'reported' in Great Britain where, perhaps, he arrived in October: with Scotland Yard aware of his hiding place, but with the British anti-crime agency Soca not authorizing the arrest due to an error in the drafting of the Swedish arrest warrant where some details were missing. The day after, the Swedish High Court rejected the appeal filed by Assange. At this point, and following the 'correction' of the arrest warrant, the lawyers of the founder of Wikileaks began negotiations with Scotland Yard for surrender, which ended with the arrest in London.

HERE ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE INVESTIGATION IN SWEDEN - There would be economic motivations and not the CIA behind the complaints made by two Swedish women against Julian Assange. This is emphasized by the officials of Wikileaks in Stockholm, quoted by the British Guardian which today publishes excerpts from the investigation initiated against the Australian in Stockholm. 'It's not the CIA that sent an agent in a miniskirt: this is a normal police investigation into an incident involving Julian and two women,' said one of the Wikileaks officials in Stockholm. 'Economic motivations and revenge,' assures Swedish lawyer Bjorn Hurtig behind the complaint.

The ten days of Assange in Sweden begin on August 11, 2010: 'Miss A.' one of the two accusers (the Guardian does not name them but A is Anna Ardin while W is Sofia Wilen), organizes the trip for a conference and gives the house keys to the founder of Wikileaks, 'because she would have stayed out for a while,' as read in the 'unauthorized' excerpts published by the Guardian. On the 13th, however, he returns unexpectedly, and the two go out to dinner together. Upon returning, Assange starts undressing her, she initially refuses - as testified to the police by Miss A. - but then 'it was too late to stop him,' so she consents. After repeated requests from the woman, Assange agrees to use a condom but does 'something with the condom' which then turned out to be broken. At that point, the woman tells the police without sparing details, 'Assange had sex anyway,' disregarding the broken condom. The Australian will continue to sleep at Miss A.'s house for another seven days. On August 14, Assange meets 'Miss W.,' his other accuser.

On August 20, a Friday, the two women accidentally discover the double relationship: they meet and after repeated requests to Assange to take the HIV test (the Australian eventually agrees, but does not do it because the clinic is closed), they go to the police to report him. That same evening, the incident ends up in the Swedish newspaper Expressen. From the documents, according to Assange's Swedish lawyer, Bjorn Hurtig, it is understood that 'both did not want a rape investigation, but to force him to take the HIV test.' According to the lawyer, the motivations that moved Miss A. and Miss W. are of an economic nature, 'they thought of making some money with an interview for a newspaper,' and passionate, 'they wanted revenge.'

WHO IS ANNA, THE ACCUSER PERHAPS A SPY - 'Anna the Cuban', fundamentalist Christian, perhaps a CIA spy, committed feminist who seems to have not withstood the criticisms of her 'comrades in arms', women of the caliber of Naomi Klein and Naomi Wolf, and for this reason abandoned the Wikileaks affair. Anna Ardin is already a character, one of the two main accusers of Julian Assange, elusive, with uncertain origins, able to dissolve into nothingness, just like the Australian hacker before his arrest. And her own exit, if it will be, has the contours of a novel: Anna, worn down by the criticisms of the feminists who attacked the Swedish judiciary defining Assange's arrest for rape as ''instrumental'', would have decided not to collaborate with the prosecutors anymore.

And she would have moved to the West Bank as part of a Christian initiative to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Now the woman, a fundamentalist Christian, would find herself in Yanoun, a small village near the disputed barrier between the Jewish state and the territories. But in the past, Assange's accuser would have spent a lot of time in Havana, so much so that local newspapers have already dubbed her 'Anna the Cuban.' According to some, she may have even been born in Cuba. She has certainly visited it several times as a representative of the Swedish Social Democrats, working alongside the island's dissidents and perhaps for the CIA. Yesterday, 'La Mesa Rendonda,' the most famous Cuban political program, dedicated an entire episode to Wikileaks.

And Anna. The testimonies have not been long in coming: according to some journalists, the woman in the past ''visited Cuba where she met with the Damas de Blanco and other opposition groups''. But not only that: Anna, according to other testimonies, would be linked to Carlos Alberto Montaner, a Cuban analyst who, according to Havana, works for the CIA to develop ''anti-Cuban plans''. Thus, the hypothesis returns that the feminist, Christian fundamentalist, perhaps Cuban, is also a spy. And that in Havana she worked on behalf of groups ''financed by the USA against Fidel Castro''. A spy for the United States, in short, and for many, the step towards accusations against Assange would be short.