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“I am following with concern the extradition proceedings in the UK against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,” said the government’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Barbel Kofler, in a statement.
Assange, 49, is in Belmarsh prison, which is subject to strict security measures in London, awaiting the issuance of a decision expected on January 4 for a British judge to decide on the extradition request. of the United States, in a case that its supporters consider sheds light on press freedom.
The Australian publisher faces 18 charges in the United States for the WikiLeaks website that published 500,000 classified documents in 2010, containing details on military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, including possible war crimes.
Kofler said: “The humanitarian and human rights aspects of a possible handover should not be overlooked.”
He added: “Julian Assange’s physical and mental health needs to be taken into account when deciding to extradite him to the United States,” and emphasized that Britain “is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Assange was arrested on December 7, 2010 and could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison if convicted.
In 2012, while on parole, he evaded an offer from Sweden to extradite him after he applied for asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He remained in the junior diplomatic mission for seven years, and the Swedish charges were later dismissed. However, he was handed over to the British police in April 2019 after the change of government in Quito, then imprisoned for violating the terms of his release. The United States then submitted a formal request for his extradition.
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