Assange May Seek Asylum in France

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is jailed in Britain fighting extradition to the United States for espionage and computer hacking, may seek asylum in France, his lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti said on Friday.

Dupond-Moretti told Europe 1 radio that Assange’s legal team would be in contact with French President Emmanuel Macron to make the case for Assange to get asylum in France. Assange has said that his youngest child and the child’s mother are French.

Dupond-Moretti said the French asylum request would be based on humanitarian and health grounds, arguing that Assange was showing signs of "psychological torture".

"Article 53 of our constitution also allows for France to give refuge to a man who is being threatened on reasons of his freedom of expression," he told Europe 1.

Assange is currently in jail in London, and Judge Vanessa Baraitser will hear arguments next week as to why he should or should not be sent to the United States.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-assange-france/wikileaks-assange-may-seek-asylum-in-france-lawyer-idUSKBN20F16O