MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2019) Whistleblowing platform WikiLeaks on Thursday expressed concerns about the condition of its founder Julian Assange as he was moved to a health ward of a UK prison where he has been detained.
Later in the day, a hearing into the US request to extradite Assange is scheduled to be held.
"WikiLeaks has grave concerns about the state of health of our publisher, Julian Assange, who has been moved to the health ward of Belmarsh prison," WikiLeaks wrote on Twitter.
In a statement, attached to the post, the platform explained that Assange's condition had deteriorated in the course of seven years that he spent in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Since Assange had been placed into Belmarsh prison in the wake of his arrest, he had lost weight and his health had continued to deteriorate, the statement continued.
Moreover, WikiLeaks cited Assange's defense lawyer Per Samuelson as characterizing the whistleblower's condition by saying "it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him."
On Tuesday, a Swedish court had declined a request of Assange's defense to delay the next hearing in the alleged sexual assault case over the WikiLeaks founder's poor health. In the statement, the platform condemned the move.
Assange was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy and arrested on April 11 on US and Swedish requests.
The United States has requested the extradition of the whistleblower. Washington initially charged Assange with conspiring to carry out a computer offense. However, the US Justice Department subsequently extended the charges so the whistleblower may now face up to 175 years in prison.
