Julian Assange has been subjected to drawn-out "psychological torture", a UN rights expert said on Friday, accusing the United States, Britain, Ecuador and Sweden of "collective persecution" of the WikiLeaks founder.

The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, also warned that if London agrees to an extradition request from Washington, Assange risked the death penalty.

Melzer visited the Australian whistleblower in a London prison on May 9, nearly a month after his arrest at Ecuador's embassy where he had been holed up for seven years.

"It was obvious that Mr Assange's health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years," Melzer said in a statement.

"Most importantly, in addition to physical ailments, Mr Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma," he said. </s> Julian Assange has been subjected to drawn-out “psychological torture”, a UN rights expert said Friday, accusing the United States, Britain, Ecuador and Sweden of “collective persecution” of the WikiLeaks founder.

The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, also warned that if London agrees to an extradition request from Washington, Assange risked the death penalty.

Melzer visited the Australian whistleblower in a London prison on May 9, nearly a month after his arrest at Ecuador’s embassy where he had been holed up for seven years.

“It was obvious that Mr Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years,” Melzer said in a statement.

“Most importantly, in addition to physical ailments, Mr Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma,” he said.

Melzer, who was accompanied on the visit by two medical experts specialised in examining potential torture victims, said there was “overwhelming” evidence that Assange had been “deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

“The cumulative effects,” he said, “can only be described as psychological torture.”

Assange, 47, sought refuge at Ecuador’s embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces accusations of sexual assault.

He is currently serving a separate 50-week sentence at London’s Belmarsh prison for skipping bail.

Assange now also has an extradition request against him from the US, which has charged him with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing a huge cache of military and diplomatic files in 2010, rejecting his claim that he is a journalist.

Melzer warned that extraditing Assange to the US would expose him “to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

“I am particularly alarmed at the recent announcement by the US Department of Justice of 17 new charges against Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act, which currently carry up to 175 years in prison,” he said.

“This may well result in a life sentence without parole, or possibly even the death penalty, if further charges were to be added in the future,” he warned.

Melzer voiced outrage at the “sustained and concerted effort by several states” over the past nine years to secure Assange’s extradition to the US.

Since 2010, “there has been a relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation against Mr. Assange, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador,” he said.

“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law,” he said.

“The collective persecution of Julian Assange must end here and now!” </s> In a blistering statement against democratic countries collaborating to prosecute and enable the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture condemned the “collective persecution” against him.

“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence, and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize, and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law,” Nils Melzer declared.

On May 9, Melzer visited the Belmarsh prison, where Assange is confined. Two medical experts, who specialize in examining potential victims of torture and abuse, accompanied Melzer and conducted a medical assessment.

“Mr. Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety, and intense psychological trauma,” one expert concluded.

The expert added, “[He] has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture.”

The abusive treatment of Assange by the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, and Ecuador was condemned by the expert, who mentioned that they “seriously deplore the consistent failure of all involved governments to take measures for the protection of his most fundamental human rights and dignity.”

“By displaying an attitude of complacency at best, and of complicity at worst, these governments have created an atmosphere of impunity encouraging Mr. Assange’s uninhibited vilification and abuse.”

Melzer sent letters to each of the four involved governments this past week that urged them to quit “disseminating, instigating, and tolerating statements or other activities prejudicial to Assange’s human rights and dignity.”

The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture also pressed the British government to not allow the extradition of Assange to the U.S. and expressed alarm over the 17 new charges of violating the Espionage Act that were issued against him by the U.S. Justice Department, which carry up to 175 years in prison if he is found guilty of all offenses.

According to Melzer, Assange is not in solitary confinement conditions, however, the prison does limit the length and frequency of lawyer visits to an extent that may prevent him from being able to prepare a defense in his “complex” case.

“Since 2010, when Wikileaks started publishing evidence of war crimes and torture committed by U.S. forces, we have seen a sustained and concerted effort by several states towards getting Mr. Assange extradited to the United States for prosecution, raising serious concern over the criminalization of investigative journalism in violation of both the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law,” Melzer stated.

On May 30, Assange was unable to attend a hearing at the Westminster Magistrates Court via video link because of his deteriorating health. He was moved to the hospital ward of Belmarsh.

There is a hearing scheduled in Sweden on June 3. A Swedish prosecutor re-opened the case into sexual allegations and requested that Assange be detained in absentia.

Assange’s attorneys requested the hearing be postponed due to his poor health, but a Swedish court rejected this request on May 28, mere days before it was widely reported that he was moved to the hospital ward.

“One of the reasons is that Assange’s health situation on [May 24] was such that it was not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him,” said Per Samuelson, Assange’s Swedish defense attorney.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot indicated on May 30 that a substantive extradition hearing scheduled on June 12 may be moved to a court near Belmarsh to accommodate Assange while he is in poor health.

In February 2018, Arbuthnot presided over a complaint against the bail charge against Assange, which was issued after he sought political asylum from Ecuador.

She wrote, “I accept that Mr. Assange had expressed fears of being returned to the United States from a very early stage in the Swedish extradition proceedings, but absent any evidence from Mr. Assange on oath, I do not find that Mr. Assange’s fears were reasonable. I do not accept that Sweden would have rendered Mr. Assange to the United States. If that had happened, there would have been a diplomatic crisis between the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the United States, which would have affected international relationships and extradition proceedings between the states.”

After Assange was expelled and arrested from their embassy in the U.K., Ecuador seized his possessions. They handed over his “legal papers, medical records, and electronics equipment” to U.S. officials earlier in May.

“It is extremely worrying that Ecuador has proceeded with the search and seizure of property, documents, information, and other material belonging to the defense of Julian Assange, which Ecuador arbitrarily confiscated, so that these can be handed over to the the agent of political persecution against him, the United States,” Baltasar Garzón, the international legal coordinator for the defense of Assange and WikiLeaks. “It is an unprecedented attack on the rights of the defence, freedom of expression and access to information exposing massive human rights abuses and corruption.”

Melzer appeared on “Democracy Now!” on May 31 and said, “I believe that Mr. Assange has a credible case and a credible fear that he would not get a fair trial in the United States, that he would not be safe and protected from the types of detention and treatment that would violate the Convention Against Torture.”

“When the new government was elected in Ecuador in 2017, the last government that had actually provided him with refuge and protection turned against him and started to deliberately harass him in order to get him to leave the embassy and/or to trigger a health crisis that would justify his expulsion to a British hospital, and therefore to British jurisdiction,” Melzer added.

“All these elements have resulted in a medical picture and symptoms that are tantamount to what psychological torture would produce over a prolonged period.” </s> LONDON — Julian Assange has been left in a state of "extreme stress, chronic anxiety" and "constant panic" after spending seven years holed up in London's Ecuadorian Embassy, a leading United Nations expert who visited the WikiLeaks co-founder in prison said Thursday.

Nils Melzer, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, told NBC News he blames the United States, United Kingdom and Sweden for "ganging up" on Assange and subjecting him to "psychological torture" and "collective persecution" while he was inside the embassy.

"You talk with him and he is extremely agitated. He had all these questions: What's going on there? What is in this [legal] proceeding? And what's going to happen here?" the U.N. official, who has been working informally with Assange's legal team, said.

"He's so preoccupied that he will bombard you with questions without waiting for answers," Melzer said.

Assange fled to the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Critics pointed out he was free to walk outside and face justice whenever he wanted.

But Assange and his supporters claim he was forced into exile to avoid extradition to the U.S., a belief supported by Melzer.

Assange is currently being held at London's high-security Belmarsh prison, having been hauled out of the embassy in April and sentenced to 50 weeks for skipping bail.

The U.S. has since announced it is charging Assange with 17 counts under the Espionage Act of 1917, which critics say has potential free speech implications.

In a telephone interview, Melzer said that if Assange is extradited to the U.S., he faces what amounts to "ill treatment or torture," such as prolonged isolation, sensory deprivation and solitary confinement.

He faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

"There is this intelligence cooperation between Sweden and the U.S., which is very important for Sweden and their own defense strategy since they evolved away from neutrality in the '90s," Melzer said. "Sweden has been very forthcoming in cooperating with the U.S. in those years."

Asked by NBC News to respond to the allegation that its investigation of Assange was disproportionate, the Swedish prosecutor's office declined to comment.

The investigation of sexual assault against Assange expired in 2015 because it exceeded the statute of limitations. The investigation of rape was dropped in 2017 because officials said it was impossible to pursue Assange while in exile. They reopened that case after his arrest last month.

On Thursday, Assange missed a court hearing because his lawyer said he was too ill to appear by video link. Melzer visited him on May 9, accompanied by two medical professionals specializing in the impact of torture on detainees.

He "shows all the signs that are typical for person who has prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma," Melzer said. "You can see that that's someone who lives in constant panic. Basically, it's a bit like imagine being in a nightmare and never waking up."

The U.N. rapporteur is also a professor of international law at the University of Glasgow, human rights chair of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and previously worked as an adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In a U.N. statement released Friday, Melzer said he believes there has been a "unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation" by the U.S., Ecuador and Sweden to get Assange extradited to the U.S. Other experts say that Sweden's reopening of the rape case complicates this supposed aim.

Melzer has written to all four governments asking them to "refrain from further disseminating, instigating or tolerating statements or other activities prejudicial to Assange's human rights and dignity."

“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a long time," he wrote. </s> Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange shows the symptoms of psychological torture and could have his human rights violated if he is extradited to the US, a United Nations torture expert said in a scathing statement that accused countries of ganging up to demonize Assange.

Nils Melzer, the UN's special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, said that he examined Assange alongside two medical experts in early May and found that Assange was displaying "extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma" after being subjected to several years' worth of "progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

Assange is currently on his seventh week of a 50-week sentence in the UK's Belmarsh prison after he was expelled from Ecuador's London embassy.

Julian Assange is arrested at London's Ecuadorian Embassy in April. Screenshot/Sky News

He lived there for seven years and was arrested by British police for breaching bail conditions once Ecuador revoked his asylum in April.

Read more: Julian Assange has 'dramatically lost weight' since being imprisoned, and is so ill he can barely speak, WikiLeaks claims

Melzer said that Assange had been "deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture."

Assange also faces potential extradition to the US, where he has been accused of spying, and Sweden has reopened an investigation into rape allegations made against Assange, which he denies.

Melzer appealed to the British Government not to extradite Assange to the US "or to any other State failing to provide reliable guarantees against his onward transfer to the United States."

Read more:Julian Assange is being held in the UK's most notorious prison that was once known as 'Britain's Guantanamo Bay'

He said that his "urgent concern" is that "in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including of his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial, and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

A police van outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London after Assange was arrested by British police. Peter Nicholls/Reuters

WikiLeaks said that Assange will get 175 years in jail if he is extradited to the US.

Melzer criticized the US, the UK, Sweden, and Ecuador for what he described as "ganging up" on Assange.

"In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic States ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law."

"The collective persecution of Julian Assange must end here and now!"

Melzer said there had been a "relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation, and defamation against Mr. Assange, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador."

UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer in Turkey in 2016. ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images

He urged these governments to "take measures for the protection of his most fundamental human rights and dignity" and said they "have created an atmosphere of impunity encouraging Mr. Assange's uninhibited vilification and abuse."

A spokesman for the British government told The New York Times that the government nation supported Melzer's work and mandate, but did not agree with some of his observations and would issue a response. The Justice Department declined to comment to The Times, while Ecuadorean and Swedish officials could not be reached on Friday.

Melzer said that Assange has currently limited access to his legal representation and documents that would allow him to prepare his defense for these cases.

He also warned that Assange's extradition raises "serious concern over the criminalization of investigative journalism in violation of both the US Constitution and international human rights law."

Julian Assange after he was arrested by British police outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

WikiLeaks said this week that Assange already was in poor health from his seven-year stay in the Ecuadorian embassy and that seven weeks in prison had caused his condition to worsen.

It said Assange has "dramatically lost weight" and that his current mental state meant that it is "not possible to conduct a normal conversation with him."

Read more: Wikileaks says Julian Assange could face 175 years in prison after US files 17 new charges against him

Reuters reported that Assange was too ill to appear via video link at a hearing over whether or not he would be extradited.

The United Nations previously criticized Assange's 50-week sentence as "concerning" and disproportionate."

Assange's time in the Ecuadorian embassy was marked with Ecuador accusing him of spying and mistreating staff, as well as being deeply unhygienic.

Melzer said that over the last nine years "Assange has been exposed to persistent, progressively severe abuse ranging from systematic judicial persecution and arbitrary confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy, to his oppressive isolation, harassment and surveillance inside the embassy, and from deliberate collective ridicule, insults and humiliation, to open instigation of violence and even repeated calls for his assassination." </s> * U.N. torture expert visited Assange in London prison on May 9

* Calls for him not to be extradited to U.S., fears abuse

GENEVA, May 31 (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has suffered “psychological torture” from a defamation campaign against him by the media, judges and senior political figures, a United Nations human rights investigator said on Friday.

Nils Melzer, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture who visited Assange in a high-security London prison on May 9, voiced concern at fresh U.S. criminal charges laid against Assange and reiterated a call for him not to be extradited.

Assange was too ill on Thursday to appear via video link from a British prison in a hearing on an extradition request from the United States, his lawyer Gareth Peirce told Reuters. He is in a health ward.

“Mr. Assange has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture,” Melzer said in a statement.

The Swiss law professor, an independent expert, was accompanied on the prison visit by two medical experts specialised in examining potential victims of torture and other ill-treatment, the statement said. They spoke with Assange in private and conducted a “thorough medical assessment”.

“It was obvious that Mr. Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years,” Melzer said.

“In addition to physical ailments, Mr. Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.”

The United States is seeking the extradition of Assange, who was dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London on April 11 after his seven-year asylum was revoked, for one of the biggest ever leaks of classified information.

The Australian, now 47, had skipped bail and taken refuge there in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over a sexual assault investigation that was later dropped. Sweden reopened the investigation in early May. Assange denies the rape allegation.

The United States has charged Assange with espionage, saying he unlawfully published the names of classified sources and conspired with and assisted ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in obtaining access to classified information. He faces 18 U.S. criminal counts and decades in prison if convicted.

“My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” Melzer said.

Assange made international headlines in 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff.

“Since (2010), there has been a relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation against Mr. Assange, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador,” Melzer said, pointing to the press and social media, and unnamed senior political figures and judicial magistrates involved in the case. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Ros Russell) </s> A United Nations official has urged the Government not to extradite Julian Assange to the United States, warning that the WikiLeaks founder would not receive a fair trial after years of being subjected to "psychological torture".

A United Nations official has urged the Government not to extradite Julian Assange to the United States, warning that the WikiLeaks founder would not receive a fair trial after years of being subjected to "psychological torture".

Julian Assange will not get fair trial in US after years of torture, warns UN official

Professor Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, said after visiting Mr Assange in prison, that he had been deliberately exposed to severe forms of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment or punishment.

Mr Assange lived inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for almost seven years before being dragged out last month and sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for a bail violation.

He now faces an extradition request from the US to face claims of violating the US Espionage Act by publishing classified military and diplomatic documents in 2010.

Mr Assange was too ill to appear at a court hearing in London on Thursday.

Prof Melzer, who visited Mr Assange in Belmarsh Prison in south London earlier this month, issued a strongly worded statement expressing "alarm" that the US Department of Justice had laid 17 new charges, which carry up to 175 years in prison.

"This may well result in a life sentence without parole, or possibly even the death penalty, if further charges were added in the future," he said.

Prof Melzer said he was "gravely concerned" about the limited frequency of visits by Mr Assange's lawyers and his lack of access to documents, making it impossible for him to prepare his defence in the complex legal proceedings "piling up" against him.

The Swedish authorities recently announced that they were reopening an investigation into a rape allegation, which Mr Assange has always denied.

Prof Melzer said Mr Assange had been transferred to the healthcare unit at Belmarsh because his psychological state had deteriorated.

"Since 2010, when Wikileaks started publishing evidence of war crimes and torture committed by US forces, we have seen a sustained and concerted effort by several states towards getting Mr Assange extradited to the United States for prosecution, raising serious concern over the criminalisation of investigative journalism in violation of both the US Constitution and international human rights law," he said.

"Since then, there has been a relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation against Mr Assange, not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador."

According to the UN official, this included an "endless stream" of humiliating, debasing and threatening statements in the press and on social media, and by senior political figures, and magistrates involved in proceedings against Mr Assange.

"In the course of the past nine years, Mr Assange has been exposed to persistent, progressively severe abuse ranging from systematic judicial persecution and arbitrary confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy, to his oppressive isolation, harassment and surveillance inside the embassy, and from deliberate collective ridicule, insults and humiliation, to open instigation of violence and even repeated calls for his assassination.

"It was obvious that Mr Assange's health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years.

"Most importantly, in addition to physical ailments, Mr Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.

"The evidence is overwhelming and clear.

"Mr Assange has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture.

"I condemn, in the strongest terms, the deliberate, concerted and sustained nature of the abuse inflicted on Mr Assange and seriously deplore the consistent failure of all involved governments to take measures for the protection of his most fundamental human rights and dignity.

"By displaying an attitude of complacency at best, and of complicity at worst, these governments have created an atmosphere of impunity encouraging Mr Assange's uninhibited vilification and abuse."

Prof Melzer appealed to the British Government not to extradite Mr Assange to America or to any other state failing to provide reliable guarantees against his onward transfer to the US.

He told the Press Association that extraditing Mr Assange to the US would be a "grave violation" of his human rights because there was "no chance" of him receiving a fair trial.

He added: "In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time, and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law."

Swedish prosecutors announced that a detention hearing will be held at Uppsala District Court on Monday.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecution Eva-Marie Persson has submitted an application for a detention order, in which she requests the court to detain Mr Assange in his absence.

"I am requesting the district court to detain Assange in his absence, on probable cause suspected of rape (less serious crime). If the court decides to detain him, I will issue a European Arrest Warrant concerning his surrender to Sweden," she said. </s> Another crude and sad chapter, yet more evidence of a system’s vengeance against its challengers. Julian Assange, like they dying Roman emperor Vespasian, may be transforming into a god of sorts, but the suffering of his mortal physical is finding its mark. While some in the cynical, narcissistic press corps still find little to commend his case, the movement to highlight his fate, and the extra-territorial vengeance of the United States, grows.

Often reviled and dismissed as ineffectual if not irrelevant, the United Nations has offered Assange some measure of protection through its articulations and findings. Ironically enough, powers happy to regard the UN as a mere bauble of international relations in not protecting human rights have dismissed it when action does take place.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, for instance, found in 2016 that the publisher’s conditions of confinement in the Ecuadorean embassy amounted to arbitrary detention.

The Working Group took the long view: to suggest that he had a choice in leaving the embassy at any point was farfetched and myopic. Specific reference to the shoddy Swedish prosecution effort against Assange (“lack of diligence… in its investigations”) was also made, as it compounded the element of arbitrariness. Any request to question him in Sweden could hardly be seen as “benign”. How right they were.

Notwithstanding that, a resounding sneer from the British authorities, a bevy of black letter lawyers, and newspapers followed. “He is not being detained arbitrarily,” The Guardian editorialised with its usual fair-friend weathered disposition. The Working Group’s finding, according to international law authority Philippe Sands, was “poorly reasoned and unpersuasive”. Assange best give up the ghost and face the music.

This week, Professor Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, came to a conclusion as unsurprising as it was necessary. After visiting Assange at the maximum security facility at Belmarsh on May 9, the UN official found that the publisher had been subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This was all part of him becoming the cause célèbre of “a relentless campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation […] not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador.” These governments had, be it through “an attitude of complacency at best, and of complicity at worst […] created an atmosphere of impunity encouraging Mr Assange’s uninhibited vilification and abuse.”

The fresh list of charges from US prosecutors – 17 additions to spice those centred on computer intrusion and conspiracy – alarmed Melzer.

The cumulative and crushing effect of the charges – potentially 175 years imprisonment – astonished Melzer.

To this can be added a nine-year period of systematic judicial abuse, arbitrary confinement, oppressive isolation, harassment, embassy surveillance by Ecuador and the “deliberative collective ridicule, insults and humiliation, to open instigation of violence and even repeated calls for his assassination.”

While the conditions in Belmarsh do not currently make the grade of solitary confinement, they have been severe and inhospitable enough to cause concern. Visits by Assange’s legal team are limited and sporadic; access to necessary case files and documents has been curbed, impairing chances of adequately preparing his legal defence.

Melzer also has a dig against the broader effort to attack journalism, with Assange as figurehead.

Medical experts who accompanied Melzer on his visit also expressed opinions on Assange’s health, finding that his health had been “seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years.” Physical ailments were found alongside the “symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.”

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, taking a dog-eared leaf out of the book of excuses used against the Working Group, dismissed Melzer’s findings. Assange always had an unimpaired, free choice (that word again).

The BBC also noted the views of a justice ministry spokesperson, keen to disabuse sceptics that the British justice system might be suffering from judicial wear and tear. The UK did not, it was asserted, participate in torture; its judges were independent and rights to appeal could be exercised.

The response to Hunt from the good professor was sharp: Assange “was about as ‘free to leave’ as a [sic] someone sitting on a rubberboat in a sharkpool.” In his view, “UK courts have not shown the impartiality and objectivity required by the rule of law.”

Melzer’s words suffice as a damningly grim biography on the treatment levelled at Assange and the broader enterprise of publishing. For two decades, having worked with “victims of war, violence and political persecution,” the rapporteur had “never seen a group of democratic States gang up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law.”

Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com </s> Another crude and sad chapter, yet more evidence of a system’s vengeance against its challengers. Julian Assange, like they dying Roman emperor Vespasian, may be transforming into a god of sorts, but the suffering of his mortal physical is finding its mark. While some in the cynical, narcissistic press corps still find little to commend his case, the movement to highlight his fate, and the extra-territorial vengeance of the United States, grows.

Often reviled and dismissed as ineffectual if not irrelevant, the United Nations has offered Assange some measure of protection through its articulations and findings. Ironically enough, powers happy to regard the UN as a mere bauble of international relations in not protecting human rights have dismissed it when action does take place.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, for instance, found in 2016 that the publisher’s conditions of confinement in the Ecuadorean embassy amounted to arbitrary detention. “The Working Group considered that Mr Assange has been subjected to different forms of deprivation of liberty: initial detention in Wandsworth prison which was followed by house arrest and his confinement at the Ecuadorean embassy.”

The Working Group took the long view: to suggest that he had a choice in leaving the embassy at any point was farfetched and myopic. Specific reference to the shoddy Swedish prosecution effort against Assange (“lack of diligence… in its investigations”) was also made, as it compounded the element of arbitrariness. Any request to question him in Sweden could hardly be seen as “benign”. How right they were.

Notwithstanding that, a resounding sneer from the British authorities, a bevy of black letter lawyers, and newspapers followed. “He is not being detained arbitrarily,” The Guardian editorialised with its usual fair-friend weathered disposition. The Working Group’s finding, according to international law authority Philippe Sands, was “poorly reasoned and unpersuasive”. Assange best give up the ghost and face the music.

This week, Professor Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, came to a conclusion as unsurprising as it was necessary. After visiting Assange at the maximum security facility at Belmarsh on May 9, the UN official found that the publisher had been subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This was all part of him becoming the cause célèbre of “a relentless campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation […] not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Sweden and, more recently, Ecuador.” These governments had, be it through “an attitude of complacency at best, and of complicity at worst […] created an atmosphere of impunity encouraging Mr Assange’s uninhibited vilification and abuse.”

The fresh list of charges from US prosecutors – 17 additions to spice those centred on computer intrusion and conspiracy – alarmed Melzer. “My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The cumulative and crushing effect of the charges – potentially 175 years imprisonment – astonished Melzer. “This may well result in a life sentence without parole, or possibly even the death penalty, if further charges are added in the future.” To this can be added a nine-year period of systematic judicial abuse, arbitrary confinement, oppressive isolation, harassment, embassy surveillance by Ecuador and the “deliberative collective ridicule, insults and humiliation, to open instigation of violence and even repeated calls for his assassination.”

While the conditions in Belmarsh do not currently make the grade of solitary confinement, they have been severe and inhospitable enough to cause concern. Visits by Assange’s legal team are limited and sporadic; access to necessary case files and documents has been curbed, impairing chances of adequately preparing his legal defence.

Melzer also has a dig against the broader effort to attack journalism, with Assange as figurehead. “Since 2010, when WikiLeaks started publishing evidence of war crimes and torture committed by US forces, we have seen a sustained and concerted effort by several States towards getting Mr Assange extradited to the United States by prosecution, raising serious concern over the criminalisation of investigative journalism in violation of both the US constitution and international human rights law.”

Medical experts who accompanied Melzer on his visit also expressed opinions on Assange’s health, finding that his health had been “seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years.” Physical ailments were found alongside the “symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.”

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, taking a dog-eared leaf out of the book of excuses used against the Working Group, dismissed Melzer’s findings. Assange always had an unimpaired, free choice (that word again). “Assange chose to hide in the embassy and was always free to leave and face justice. The UN Special Rapporteur should allow British courts to make their judgments without his interference or inflammatory accusations.”

The BBC also noted the views of a justice ministry spokesperson, keen to disabuse sceptics that the British justice system might be suffering from judicial wear and tear. The UK did not, it was asserted, participate in torture; its judges were independent and rights to appeal could be exercised.

The response to Hunt from the good professor was sharp: Assange “was about as ‘free to leave’ as a [sic] someone sitting on a rubberboat in a sharkpool.” In his view, “UK courts have not shown the impartiality and objectivity required by the rule of law.”

Melzer’s words suffice as a damningly grim biography on the treatment levelled at Assange and the broader enterprise of publishing. For two decades, having worked with “victims of war, violence and political persecution,” the rapporteur had “never seen a group of democratic States gang up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law.”

 _______________

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com
The United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Nils Melzer, accuses the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden of "ganging up" on Julian Assange and subjecting him to "psychological torture" and "collective persecution" after spending seven years living inside London's Ecuadorian Embassy.