News / Foreign Policy

Julian Assange suffers stroke in court, fiancée reveals

Sunday, 12 December 2021 11:30 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 12 December 2021 11:48 AM ]

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had a stroke during his UK High Court appeal hearing, his fiancée has revealed.

Stella Moris posted on social media that the imprisoned Australian whistleblower suffered a stroke on October 27, the first day of the hearing.

BREAKING: Julian #Assange suffered a stroke on the first day of the High Court appeal hearing on October 27th.

He needs to be freed. Now. #FreeAssange https://t.co/yNg8HGUoAD
— Stella Moris #FreeAssangeNOW (@StellaMoris1) December 11, 2021

Moris, who is also Assange's lawyer and has had two children with him, did not provide an update on the journalist's condition following the stroke.

She said that Assange, who has been in a British jail since 2019, needed to be released due to his poor health.

"He needs to be freed. Now," she tweeted late on Saturday.

Earlier, a UK judge had ruled that Assange, who faces espionage charges for publishing secret US military documents, can be extradited to the United States for trial.

Assange extradition blow to press freedom, human rights

A UK court has ruled that Julian Assange, the famous Australian whistleblower and WikiLeaks founder, can be extradited to the United States.

The 50-year-old journalist was incarcerated by British officials in April 2019. Prior to his arrest, Assange had been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for five years.

Assange's supporters see him as a human rights hero and defender of press freedom.

They say the charges lodged against him by the US judiciary are politically motivated.

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