London – Julian Assange’s fight for freedom won another dramatic episode this Monday (10): Wikileaks founder Stella’s wife announced that she had tested positive for covid-19 and was in isolation in Belmarsh prison, where she was placed in isolation. USA is in process.
Assange, 51, showed signs of fragile health in his last public appearance or in contact with family and members of the defense.
He lost a lot of weight and the ability to speak clearly following his arrest, which led prison authorities to transfer him to the hospital wing.
Assange’s Covid Symptoms Started Friday
According to Stella, with whom the Wikileaks founder has two children, she started feeling good on Friday, on the eve of a series of shows set to be released in several countries.
With fever and cough, he was given paracetamol and was “locked in his cell for 24 hours now,” he said.
He was visited by his wife and two children aged 2 and 4 as social isolation rules were relaxed in England.
While announcing Assange’s diagnosis of Kovid, he asked Assange to send messages to be read when they spoke on the phone.
Many have responded to the request and the post has already been shared more than 4,000 times. There are messages from many countries. In one, a supporter of the Wikileaks founder recommends breathing exercises and a positive mindset.
Please READ this slowly to Julian. Thanks ????❤️???? pic.twitter.com/CGZD7Gs1tU
— Dr Lilliana Corredor (@Dr_LCorredor) 10 October 2022
Assange’s COVID diagnosis could have a physical as well as a moral impact.
In 2020, lawyers requested that he be released pending release from prison on the grounds that he had more than a decade of chronic lung disease that could worsen if he caught Covid.
“The next few days are going to be very important to your overall health,” said Stella, a lawyer who married Assange in March.
Last Saturday (8), supporters of Julian Assange clung to the British Parliament to pressure the country’s government to release the activists who have responded to the 18 lawsuits brought by the US government.
The children of the founder of Wikileaks also participated in the show, which was repeated in many countries and social networks.
Protesters of all kinds descended into the UK parliament today to call for the release of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange – forming a human chain around the British seat of power #SurroundParliament #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/syYwykri62
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 8 October 2022
All steps of the extradition process have been completed, but the defense has filed another appeal. The decision is now up to Suella Braverman, the new Home Secretary in Prime Minister Liz Truss’ government, and is seen as strict policy on issues such as immigration and violence.
Julian Assange’s Covid diagnosis further complicates the political situation in the UK.
Allowing extradition at this point should spark a wave of condemnation from a government that is already experiencing a serious image crisis over the economic situation and the package of measures the prime minister announced three weeks ago.
Stella Assange was invited to speak in the European Parliament today on the case of the founder of Wikileaks, benefiting from her nomination for the Sakhorov Prize for human rights.
Julian Assange’s wife addresses the European Parliament today. #SakharovAward22; Awarded to those who ‘devote their lives to defending human rights and freedom of thought’ @StellaMoris1 #FreeAssangeNOW pic.twitter.com/C0M4LMN3m6
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) 11 October 2022
Understand the Assange case
The founder of WikiLeaks has been sued by the United States for conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information after hundreds of thousands of leaked documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were posted on the site.
He faces a charge under the Espionage Act 17, Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and faces up to 175 years in prison.
Barack Obama, who was president when the documents were published in 2009, considered him a traitor.
But by April 2019, while Donald Trump was in office, the accusations became official and the US State Department requested extradition from the UK.
If Assange is extradited and tried in the United States, which is now in the hands of the British government, it will not be just one man’s conviction. A dark cloud over the freedom of the press.
Organizations advocating for human rights and freedom of the press and expression were unanimous in stating that journalists and media outlets, particularly in the United States, risk criminal prosecution or espionage if they release offensive secrets to governments.
The concern is that whistleblowers will think twice before risking giving out press stories that could improve society or prevent the continuation of bad practices, corruption and crime.
Also Read | Private | Follow the Julian Assange case and its importance for the future of press freedom
source: Noticias
