“Julian Assange’s harsh treatment risks deterring others who wish to report truthful information pertaining to armed conflicts”, declared Icelandic Socialist Sunna Ævarsdóttir on Tuesday 14 May, on her return from a two-day visit to the United Kingdom during which she met - in complete confidentiality - the Australian founder of Wikileaks, who has been held for more than 5 years in Belmarsh prison.
There, he awaits the final decision on his possible extradition to the United States, where he faces up to 175 years’ imprisonment on charges of violating the Espionage Act.
Some of the classified documents published by Julian Assange “revealed the use of torture and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by the United States and its allies”, noted Ms Ævarsdóttir, who has also met other parties involved in the case.
She also passed on a message written by Julian Assange, who “cannot speak for himself”.
In it, he praises the report she is drafting and the Council of Europe, which he sees as “the most important guardian of human rights in Europe and has a long-standing track record of protecting freedom of expression and freedom of the press”.
If the extradition to the United States is confirmed by the British courts and if Mr Assange’s appeal is rejected, those close to him have warned that they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to have it suspended. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)