NGO says that, despite having prior authorization, Reporters Without Borders members were removed from Julian Assange’s visiting list at London’s Belmarsh prison.
The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced, on Tuesday, the “absurd” decision of the British authorities that denied a visit to the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, detained for four years in a London prison, despite prior authorization. .
“We had official authorization to visit Assange, it had been confirmed (…) but when we arrived early in the morning at Belmarsh prison in London, the officer at the entrance told us that we had been removed from the visiting list ”Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the non-governmental organization (NGO), told the media.
“He told us that the prison director made this decision because we are journalists,” he added. “That explanation is absurd (…). We are here as representatives of an NGO visiting Julian, not in our role as journalists.”
Julian Assange, a 51-year-old Australian citizen, is persecuted in the United States for having published, until 2010, more than 700,000 confidential documents on US military and diplomatic activities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Arrested in 2019 by the British police after seven years of refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Julian Assange awaits the decision of his appeal against the British government’s decision to extradite him to the United States.
He has been held for four years at Belmarsh High Security Prison in east London, and his extradition could carry a sentence of more than 150 years, according to the defense.
This Tuesday, in front of the prison, Christophe Deloire”requested the release” of the whistleblower and “asked the United States to end its judicial activities”. “Julian was very nervous about not being able to meet” with RSF representatives, testified his wife, Stella Asange, who visited the detainee.
“This decision by the British authorities to prevent this meeting is ridiculous,” added Stella, considering that “Julian’s presence in this prison is a scandal on all levels.”
Stella Assange also recalled that her husband has not personally appeared in court since January 2021.
Source: Observadora
