MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2019) UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Nils Melzer believes that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been recently transferred to the health ward of London's Belmarsh prison, has been subject to psychological torture for several years.
On Wednesday, WikiLeaks said that it was seriously concerned about Assange's health, saying that the whistleblower, who had been confined to the Ecuadorian embassy in London for nearly seven years, continued to lose weight while in jail and was even incapable of maintaining a normal conversation with one of his lawyers.
"Mr Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma. The evidence is overwhelming and clear. Mr Assange has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture," Melzer said, as quoted by The Times newspaper on Friday, after visiting Assange in prison.
According to the UN rapporteur, the WikiLeaks founder risks experiencing further mistreatment if he is extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States, where he is wanted for his classified data leaks in 2010.
"My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," Melzer added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the reports, saying that she was looking forward to hearing what the UK authorities, who position themselves as champions of human rights, had to say about the situation.
"[Just look at] what [those] champions of human liberty and rights are doing. [We are] waiting for an official explanation from the [United] Kingdom," the spokeswoman wrote on Facebook.
Assange was arrested in London on April 11 and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping his bail back in 2012, when he took refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK capital to avoid extradition to Sweden where he faced sexual assault charges, which were then dropped, and possible subsequent extradition to the United States.
The United States, which is now seeking Assange's extradition and has already indicted him on 18 charges related to the leak of classified national defense files, has until June 12 to provide UK authorities with necessary documents. Swedish prosecution announced in mid-May that the investigation into sexual assault charges against the WikiLeaks founder would be reopened as well.
On Thursday, Assange was reported to be feeling too unwell to attend online a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, which is deciding whether the United Kingdom should extradite him to Sweden or to the United States. If extradited to the United States, the whistleblower may face up to 175 years in prison.
