JULIAN ASSANGE HAS A STROKE IN BELMARSH PRISON, FIANCEE SAYS

Sun 12 December 2021:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange suffered a stroke in Belmarsh Prison during a High Court appearance via video link, while fighting extradition to the United States, his fiancee Stella Moris says.

“Julian #Assange suffered a stroke on the first day of the High Court appeal hearing on October 27th. He needs to be freed. Now,” Moris said on Twitter.

WikiLeaks said on Twitter that doctors had confirmed that Assange suffered a stroke on the morning of his latest hearing.

According to the Daily Mail, Assange was left with a drooping right eyelid, memory problems and signs of neurological damage. He has had an MRI scan and is now taking anti-stroke medication.

“Julian is struggling and I fear this mini-stroke could be the precursor to a more major attack. It compounds our fears about his ability to survive the longer this long legal battle goes on,” Moris said as quoted by the Daily Mail on Saturday. “I believe this constant chess game, battle after battle, the extreme stress, is what caused Julian’s stroke on October 27,” she said.

On Friday, the London High Court ruled in favor of a US appeal to extradite Assange, dismissing concerns raised about the journalist’s health and the inhumane conditions he could face in the American prison system.

The case will now be remitted to the Westminster Magistrates’ Court with direction that a district judge will send the case to the secretary of state, who will decide on extradition.

Freedom of the Press Foundation has urged the US Department of Justice to terminate its pursuit of prosecution of Assange and commit to not using the Espionage Act against journalists and their sources.

The whistleblower is wanted by the United States on espionage charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents that shed light on war crimes committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If put on trial and convicted in the US, the Australian journalist faces up to 175 years in prison.

Assange has been on remand at Belmarsh high-security prison in southeast London since October 2020, after serving an 11-month sentence for breaking bail after staying in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years.

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