WikiLeaks founder Julien Assange, who is being held in Britain, has failed to appear in court because of serious health problems following his health deterioration since his arrest.
Gareth Pires, Assange’s lawyer, confirmed Thursday that her client’s health was far from good and that he could not attend a scheduled hearing today, even over a video connection.
The British court has set June 12 as the date for a new hearing in the Assange case. Washington has asked London to extradite Assange who is facing 18 criminal charges in the United States for publishing confidential information about us war crimes.
WikiLeaks has expressed serious concerns over the deteriorating health of its founder, who spent seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London before he was arrested last April after the Ecuadorian government dropped his refugee status.
Wikileaks has confirmed that Assange’s health has worsened and he suffered significant weight loss since his transfer to the Belmarsh prison. The prison authorities have transferred Assange to the medical section of the prison.
WikiLeaks has grave concerns about the state of health of our publisher, Julian Assange, who has been moved to the health ward of Belmarsh prison. – See full statement: pic.twitter.com/HnZVks4kWj
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 29, 2019
Both the United States and Sweden demand British authorities extradite Assange.