Julian Assange 'could die in jail' , 60 doctors write open letter

Raising concerns over WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange's health, more than 60 doctors wrote an open letter to Home Secretary published on November 25, saying that he 'could die in jail'. The doctors also requested Home Secretary Priti Patel to move him from Belmarsh prison in south-east London to a university teaching hospital. The 48-year-old Australian is still fighting the United States' bid to extradite him from the UK on the charges filed under the Espionage Act which could sentence him for up to 175 years in an American prison. 

Bases of the research

The medical officials had based their research on 'harrowing eyewitness accounts' of Assange's court appearance on October 21 in London and November 1 report by Nils Melzer, the special rapporteur on torture United Nations. According to the independent UN rights expert, Nils Melzer, Assange's 'continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life'. In the 16-page letter, it was mentioned that during the seven years in the Embassy in confined living conditions, Assange was visited and examined by several experts and each of them raised alarm at the state of his health. There have also been multiple requests by the doctors that WikiLeaks founder should be allowed access to a hospital, however, it was not permitted. According to the medical researchers, Assange was 'unable to exercise his right to free and necessary expert medical assessment and treatment throughout the seven-year period'. 

Read - Sweden Drops Rape Investigation Against WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

Published classified documents

Julian Assange used WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organisation to publish classified military and diplomatic files in 2010 including US bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq which reportedly proved highly embarrassing to the White House. He entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on June 19, 2012, and was also granted political asylum by the government. However, on April 11, 2019, he was removed from the Embassy and arrested by the Metropolitan police. Subsequently, Assange was detained in Belmarsh maximum-security prison which Melzer described as 'oppressive conditions of isolation and surveillance'. 

Read - Westminster Court To Hear WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Extradition Case

The doctors have also elaborated on the timeline of incidents in which Assange's health was reported staring from July 31, 2015, to November 1, 2019, when Nelzer raised concern and said, 'Despite the medical urgency of my appeal, and the seriousness of the alleged violations, the UK has not undertaken any measures of investigation, prevention and redress required under international law'. From a medical point of view, the doctors have 'serious concerns about Assange's fitness' and the ability to stand the trial due in February 2020. According to the World Health Organisation Constitution of 1946, the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being. 

Read - WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange's Father Warns Of Son's Death In Jail

Read - Julian Assange's 'life Being Put At Risk' In Prison Warns UN Expert

(With inputs from agency)