WikiLeaks founder and journalist Julian Assange appeared in court to fight his extradition to the United States, sluggishly reciting his name and date of birth in a zombie-like state — displaying signs of either sleep deprivation, torture or poisoning — but quickly recovered to state the rigged case against him to the judge when he was asked if he understood what he was facing.
Assange responded, appearing to fight back tears at his case management hearing, “I can’t think properly, I don’t understand how this is equitable. This superpower had 10 years to prepare for this case and I can’t access my writings. It’s very difficult where I am to do anything but these people have unlimited resources.” The WikiLeaks Founder added, “They are saying journalists and whistleblowers are enemies of the people. They have unfair advantages dealing with documents. They know the interior of my life with my psychologist. They steal my children’s DNA. This is not equitable what is happening here?”
Assange was also denied a 90-day extension to prepare his defense as governments rig yet another case against the WikiLeaks journalist, proving the death of real justice and right to a fair trial in the UK is corroborated with the death of journalism and ethics. In other words, the cards are stacked against Assange; the state has committed numerous illegal moves, yet the man’s defense can’t do anything because the state isn’t playing by the rules by showing a total bias, court action after court action.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court district judge Vanessa Baraitser further highlighted that rigging by adhering to the behest of government prosecutor James Lewis QC who was firmly against the judge giving Assange any extra time to prepare his case, as The Guardian reported.
As The Canary reports:
Clearly, the full weight of the British and US state apparatus is bearing down on the WikiLeaks founder in this extradition case. That was made explicitly clear in a statement by Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture, in May. He urged the UK not to extradite Assange to the US, saying:In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic States ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law.
The WikiLeaks former editor has been in the Belmarsh prison hospital shortly after being incarcerated, which followed with a quick deterioration of his health. Assange still remains in the medical ward, according to his father John Shipton in a recent interview with Going Underground‘s Afshin Rattansi.
Although, this may be due to the bombardment of surveillance technologies that were being used illegally on Assange while in the Ecuadorian embassy for asylum, where he has been for the past 6 years, despite two different UN rulings calling the detainment “arbitrary detention.”
What are the effects of refugee publisher @JulianAssange being exposed to eighteen signal jammers (3 clusters, six antennas per cluster) in a confined space 24/7 for seven months? This paper offers a glimpse https://t.co/f8uubSNCyY— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) November 2, 2018
In fact, last year, Christine Assange used Unity4J to urge officials to allow her son access to medical attention, and for the UK and Ecuador to end Assange’s then illegal 8-year detainment (2 years of virtual house arrest, 6 years confined inside the Ecuadorian embassy.)
For the past 6 years while Assange was in the embassy, the UK government refused his request for access to basic health needs: fresh air, exercise, sunshine for vitamin D and access to proper medical and dental care according to Christine Assange and Julian Assange’s lawyer, Greg Barns.
As a result, his health has seriously deteriorated; and his examining doctors warn these detention conditions are life-threatening.
“The slow and cruel assassination is taking place before our very eyes in the embassy in London,” Christine expressed at the time and that statement still holds true.
Assange’s doctor, Sean Love, previously stated in an opinion piece that depriving his patient of medical care is “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” Adding, “It is time for Australia to intervene.”
Other doctors who have previously examined Assange, Sondra Crosby, an associate professor at Boston University’s school of medicine and public health, and Brock Chisholm, a clinical psychologist in London have stated much the same.
All three once called on safe passage for Assange to a hospital. In an article for the Guardian, they wrote:
While the results of the evaluation are protected by doctor-patient confidentiality, it is our professional opinion that his continued confinement is dangerous physically and mentally to him and a clear infringement of his human right to healthcare.
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