A 117-strong group doctors and psychologists has called for an end to what it calls the “psychological torture” and “medical neglect” of Julian Assange.
The WikiLeaks founder is being held in Belmarsh Prison awaiting a hearing on February 24 which could see him extradited to the US.
In a 1,200-word letter published in the medical journal The Lancet, the Doctors For Assange group expresses concern over his fitness for the legal proceedings.
The letter states that Assange is in a “dire state” of health due to the effects of “prolonged psychological torture” in both the Ecuadorian embassy and Belmarsh, where he has been detained.
"Should Assange die in a UK prison, as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (Nils Melzer) has warned, he will have effectively been tortured to death," the letter added.
"Much of that torture will have taken place in a prison medical ward, on doctors' watch. The medical profession cannot afford to stand silently by, on the wrong side of torture and the wrong side of history, while such a travesty unfolds."
The first hearing into the United States' request for Assange's extradition was held on May 2 2019.
When asked by the judge if he consented to the extradition, Assange said: "I do not wish to surrender myself for extradition for doing journalism that has won many, many awards and protected many people."
A copy of the Doctors For Assange letter has been sent to the Australian minister for foreign affairs, Marise Payne.
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/uknews/doctors-call-for-end-to-psychological-torture-and-medical-neglect-of-julian-assange/ar-BB106z5o?ocid=spartandhp
So sad