After WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was surprisingly released from the maximum security prison near London, his biggest supporter is visibly relieved: his wife Stella Assange had to be patient for years before she could soon embrace her husband freely in her arms. Now she is asking for donations – the health of the 52-year-old whistleblower is said to be not good.
“We plan to set up an emergency fund for Julian’s health and recovery,” Stella Assange said in a video post published Tuesday evening. “I ask you, if you can, to contribute and help us transition to this new phase of Julian’s freedom.”
Stella Assange’s cry for help:
Stella Assange has sharply criticized prison conditions
The woman has been warning for some time that things are not going well for Assange. “His physical condition is getting worse every day because that is what happens when you lock someone up for 20 hours a day, restrict visits and treat their welfare in a cruel way,” she told reporters outside Belmarsh Prison last week. year where he was housed.
The whistleblower was imprisoned in Belmarsh for five years without conviction. Before that, the Australian lived in isolation in the embassy in Ecuador in London for seven years. His mental and physical health had already deteriorated – this was clearly evident from the embassy’s accusation that Assange, among other things, smeared walls with his feces. The South American country subsequently agreed to arrest the WikiLeaks founder.
Assange’s brother: suffered “incredible suffering” in detention
He subsequently faced extradition to the US. During a hearing in February, Stella Assange stated that “this could very well be the last hearing for Julian.” The stress caused by the case left her husband in a “very difficult situation”, both physically and mentally. He would not survive extradition to a US prison, she said at the time. Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton also stressed that the prisoner had suffered “incredible suffering” in prison and that his health had “deteriorated”.
Last stop in court on the way home
Assange is now headed to the Pacific island of Saipan, where he is expected to plead guilty to one charge on Wednesday to be released. Saipan is relatively close to Assange’s home country of Australia and is part of US territory. According to the US Attorney’s Office, Assange has pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining and distributing classified US defense documents. He is sentenced to a prison term of approximately five years, which he has already served.
Assange’s children don’t know anything yet
Julian Assange’s children do not yet know that their father will be released. Stella Assange said in a BBC interview: “I just told them there was a big surprise.” On the way to the airport in London, she told only her sons Max and Gabriel that the family was flying to Australia to attend her meeting. grandparents. The boys, aged five and seven, had never seen their father outside his maximum security prison in London.
“All of her interactions with Julian took place in a visiting room at Belmarsh Prison,” Stella Assange said. “It was always just over an hour. It was very limiting.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
