United Nations Envoys Grim Warning Over Mr. Assanges Life!
(2019-11-08 at 13:44:29 )

United Nations Envoys Grim Warning Over Mr. Assanges Life

A United Nations expert in torture diagnosis has in the past week issued a stark warning that Australian whistleblower Julian Assange is in danger of dying from extreme prison conditions in Britain.

It is testimony to the rank hypocrisy of British and United States of American governments who lecture others around the world about democracy, human rights and international law.

One can only imagine the hysterical outcry among Western governments and media if somehow Mr. Assange was being detained in a Russian prison.

The 48-year-old Assange has been held in a maximum-security prison in London since April this year when he was forcibly removed from the Ecuadorean embassy.

His arrest was itself a staggering breach of international law. Mr. Assange had been confined to the embassy for nearly seven years where he sought asylum to avoid being extradited to the United States.

He should have been released on September 22 when his sentence for a past bail infringement had been served out.

Instead, a British judge has ordered Mr. Assange to be detained until the extradition trial to the United States gets underway next year.

If Mr. Assange is extradited to the United States he is facing 175 years in prison if convicted for espionage.

Few would believe that he will receive a fair trial in Britain or the United States. He has been denied due process of consulting with his defense lawyers.

Mr. Assanges "espionage" charge stems from the fact that his whistleblower site Wikileaks published volumes of damning information exposing massive United States and NATO war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

His publications of leaked data also exposed Western diplomatic malfeasance in several countries, as well as illegal global spying on citizens by United States intelligence agencies in collusion with British counterparts.

Mr. Assange has provided vital information to the international public which demonstrates systematic corruption by Washington,D.C. and its allies.

For telling the truth, he is now being persecuted, just as his whistleblowing colleagues, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are.

Ms Manning has been repeatedly imprisoned in the United States, while Mr. Snowden has had to seek asylum in Russia for fear of being summarily incarcerated as a "traitor" if he returns to the United States.

Nils Melzer, an internationally recognized expert on torture treatment, visited Mr. Assange back in May this year during his ongoing detention in Belmarsh Category A prison under conditions of solitary confinement.

He concluded then that Mr. Assange was suffering psychological torture by the British authorities. His latest warning is based on up-to-date medical information pertaining to Mr. Assanges health, and it makes for a grim assessment.

In comments to the AFP news agency, which this week received little Western media coverage, Mr. Melzer said: "Mr Assanges health has entered a downward spiral of progressively severe anxiety, stress and helplessness typical for persons exposed to prolonged isolation and constant arbitrariness."

In a grave conclusion, he added: "While the precise evolution is difficult to predict with certainty, this pattern of symptoms can quickly develop into a life-threatening situation involving cardiovascular breakdown or nervous collapse."

Melzer said the measures he urged back in May to protect Mr. Assanges health and dignity have been pointedly ignored. "However, what we have seen from the United Kingdom government is outright contempt for Mr. Assanges rights and integrity..

Despite the medical urgency of my appeal, and the seriousness of the alleged violations, the United Kingdom has not undertaken any measures of investigation, prevention and redress required under international law."

In a further damning comment, Mr. Melzer said that Julian Assange "continues to be detained under oppressive conditions of isolation and surveillance, not justified by his detention status.

While the United States government prosecutes Mr. Assange for publishing information about serious human rights violations, including torture and murder, the officials responsible for these crimes continue to enjoy impunity."

The appalling assessment corroborates what Mr. Assanges father told Strategic Culture Foundation in an interview published on September 24. John Shipton warned then that he feared his son was being killed extrajudicially by the British and United States of American authorities.

Despite Mr. Assanges award-winning journalism and truth-telling, the Western mainstream media have shown utter disregard for his plight.

Indeed, such media have tended to bolster the vilification and character assassination piled on Mr. Assange by the United States of American and British governments.

The hypocrisy is further underscored by recent United States media attempts to lionize a so-called whistleblower who has helped launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump over alleged corruption in connection with Ukraine.

By contrast, the same media in their callous indifference towards Mr. Assange are condemning him to torture for acts of whistleblowing which were truly historic in their scope and importance.

However, one thing that has severely disadvantaged the cause of Mr. Assange is the smear campaign against him, accusing him of being a "Russian asset" or "cyber terrorist". These smears have been peddled by Western media.

So, evidently, when so-called whistleblowing serves power it is deemed praiseworthy.

But when whistleblowers challenge and discredit power then they are persecuted as criminals, even to the point of death.

Arguably, if President Donald Trump had any scruples he would drop the trumped-up espionage case against Mr. Assange.

After all, it was Wikileaks exposures of corruption by Hillary Clinton and her Democratic Party chiefs which partly boosted Donald Trumps election in 2016.

Mr. Assange obtained those leaks from a Democratic insider, not from Russian hackers, as is commonly asserted by deluded "Russiagaters".

Julian Assange while he was free and now while in prison exposes the systematic criminality and immorality of Western governments and their lackey corporate media.

That is why he finds himself in the hellish dungeon conditions today in a British prison.

We can only hope that mounting public pressure can be brought to bear on Washington and London to restore Mr. Assanges freedom and life.

In the meantime, the cruel vindictiveness of both governments, their lawlessness and profound contempt for human rights, is surely an eye-opening spectacle.

Reprinted here from the "Strategic Culture Foundation" provides a platform for exclusive analysis, research and policy comment on Eurasian and global affairs. We are covering political, economic, social and security issues worldwide. Since 2005 our journal has published thousands of analytical briefs and commentaries with the unique perspective of independent contributors. SCF works to broaden and diversify expert discussion by focusing on hidden aspects of international politics and unconventional thinking. Benefiting from the expanding power of the Internet, we work to spread reliable information, critical thought and progressive ideas.