Julian Assange's brother extremely concerned over his wellbeing
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Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton says he fears for the life of the WikiLeaks founder.
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Assange's brother in front of the British Consulate in Manhattan
Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton has said he fears for his brother's life amid his legal battle against his extradition to the United States.
Rally underway at the UK Consulate in NYC: @rogerwaters, @GabrielShipton, @kthalps, @CredicoRandy, @granmarga & more speaking out for Julian Assange pic.twitter.com/vIsJZioEX4
— Courage Foundation (@couragefound) December 13, 2021
Shipton, who is a film producer, protested in front of the British embassy in Manhattan with a group of individuals including US actress Susan Sarandon and British musician Roger Waters, founder of the Pink Floyd band.
Assange's brother expressed to AFP that he was "very worried about what hangs over Julian’s head and which only increases the pressure," adding that “we live in fear that he will not hold up or that he will die outright during this judicial extradition process."
Crowd spilling into the street in front of the UK Consulate in NYC to #FreeAssange pic.twitter.com/WuHGhj905N
— Courage Foundation (@couragefound) December 13, 2021
This is not the first time Shipton has expressed concerns over Assange's wellbeing.
While appealing against his extradition to the US, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange suffered a stroke in Belmarsh Prison during a High Court appearance via video link, his fiancée Stella Moris said.
This comes after the US government overturned a block on the extradition of Assange from Britain to face trial for publishing top-secret documents exposing war crimes perpetrated by the US and its allies across the globe.
The United States is prosecuting Assange over his leaking of a large number of classified documents to the public, which exposed US doings in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 50-year-old was charged with 17 counts of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. He could face up to 175 years in prison.
In October, Assange's defense warned that US promises that Assange would not be subjected to harsh prison conditions if extradited were not enough to address concerns regarding his fragile mental health and high risk of suicide.
Assange is currently being held at London's high-security Belmarsh Prison. For his part, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer described the ruling as a "politically motivated verdict" and criticized it.
Assange has been in custody since 2019, despite the fact that he had served a previous sentence over breaching bail conditions in a separate case.
He had also spent seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid his extradition to Sweden.
