Julian Assange has had a stroke in Belmarsh Prison.
Gatekeepers News reports that Assange’s fiancee, Stella Moris said the WikiLeaks publisher who is being held on remand in the maximum-security jail while fighting extradition to America has had a stroke.
Moris said the 50-year-old was left with a drooping right eyelid, memory problems, and signs of neurological damage.
She noted that the mini-stroke was triggered by the stress of the ongoing US court action against him and an overall decline in his health as he faces his third Christmas behind bars.
According to a video link from Belmarsh in October, this happened at the time of a High Court appearance via video link from Belmarsh.
A ‘transient ischaemic attack’ – the interruption of the blood supply to the brain can be a warning sign of a full stroke. Assange has since had an MRI scan and is now taking anti-stroke medication.
Moris who is a lawyer, said, “Julian is struggling and I fear this mini-stroke could be the precursor to a more major attack. It compounds our fears about his ability to survive the longer this long legal battle goes on.
“It urgently needs to be resolved. Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That’s what’s happening to Julian. The never-ending court cases are extremely stressful mentally.”
According to her, Assange was kept in his cell for long periods and was “short of fresh air and sunlight, an adequate diet and the stimulus he needs.”
He faced a major legal setback on Friday when the High Court overturned a judgment made this year preventing extradition to the US to face charges under the US Espionage Act.
His lawyers successfully argued he would be kept in conditions in the US that could lead to a serious risk of suicide. The High Court reversed the earlier ruling after the US government offered assurances about his potential imprisonment.
However, Moris said, “I believe this constant chess game, battle after battle, the extreme stress, is what caused Julian’s stroke on October 27.
“He was feeling really unwell, far too ill to follow the hearing, and he was excused by the judge but could not leave the prison video room.
“It must have been horrendous hearing a High Court appeal in which you can’t participate, which is discussing your mental health and your risk of suicide and in which the US is arguing you are making it all up.
“He had to sit through all this when he should have been excused. He was in a truly terrible state. His eyes were out of synch, his right eyelid would not close, his memory was blurry.”
