While a last appeal against the extradition to the United States of Julian Assange is examined for two days by the High Court of Justice in London, his wife, Stella, launches a cry of alert concerning the mental health of her husband .
Final episode? This Tuesday, February 20, 2024, begins before the British High Court of Justice, what could be the last episode of the series between Julian Assange and the United States. The founder of WikiLeaks is trying for two days from today, a last resort against his extradition to America. As a reminder, this Australian whistleblower and gifted hacker revealed hundreds of thousands of secret and classified documents starting in 2010. According to American justice, Julian Assange would have collaborated with American military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack a Pentagon computer in order to reveal military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, Julian Assange faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years in the United States.
Final appeal before the European Court of Human Rights?
“This affair will determine whether he will live or not” launched his wife, Stella, Monday evening on the BBC. In fact, if Julian Assange’s appeal request is rejected, his lawyers will be able to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. If London agrees with the founder of WikiLeaks, an American appeal procedure could begin, followed by a request for release at the initiative of Assange. Which would lead to months of additional procedures.
For her part, Stella also affirms that her husband’s health remains a crucial issue in the affair. His condition has deteriorated considerably recently, as has his mental health since his incarceration. He even suffered a slight stroke in October 2021. “I worry about him every time he gets sick. It’s not fair for our sons Gabriel and Max to see him so weak behind bars” regrets- she said in the columns of Ouest France.
Julian Assange ‘risks committing suicide’
In reality, the situation of the man who first served seven years of political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy then five in prison could be much more worrying than announced. Facts denounced by his wife on the BBC, on the eve of the long-awaited hearing: “the psychiatrists who examined Julian in prison all reached the same conclusion: he risks self-harm, suicide.” The trigger would be isolation, and the United States would undoubtedly place him in solitary confinement,” she explains. An analysis already heard from the UN special rapporteur on torture at the beginning of the month of February: “Julian Assange has long suffered from periodic depressive disorder. It was assessed that he presents a risk of suicide. In January 2021, British justice initially ruled in favor of the 52-year-old Australian, in particular by invoking this risk of suicide. A decision ultimately overturned.