WikiLeaks found Julian Assange could end up in one of the most notorious prisons in the US if extradited and convicted for espionage charges, a court at London’s Old Bailey heard on Tuesday.
Maureen Baird, a former warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, testified during the extradition hearing. Baird said Assange would be held in isolation under Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) in pre-trial detention, as well as later if convicted due to the national security aspect of the case.
Baird said that given the SAMs requirements, if Assange is convicted, the “only place” he could go is a federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, known as ADX. Baird said Assange would have to be “almost dying” to be sent to another facility.
“From my experience of close to three decades of working in federal prisons, I would agree that long-term isolation can have serious negative effects on an inmate’s mental health,” Baird said.
Last week, the court heard that Assange has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, severe depression, and other conditions that put him at risk of suicide. Medical experts said Assange would be at high risk of suicide if the court ordered his extradition to a US prison.
Assange has been held at Belmarsh Prison in London since April 2019. In May 2019, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer examined Assange at the prison with a team of medical experts. Melzer concluded that the WikiLeaks founder exhibited, “all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety, and intense psychological trauma.”
ADX prison is home to notorious criminals like Ted Kaczynski, also known as the “Unabomber,” Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
If Assange is extradited to the US, he could face up to 175 years in prison for exposing US war crimes.
We can only hope that Assange’s example will inspire others to stand up for the truth. They can’t imprison all of us.
His incarceration in permanent solitary confinement amounts to torture.its utterly inhuman.
yea, thanks uk for all your help *wink wink*.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/22/us-official-threatens-international-criminal-court-again
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/politics/international-criminal-court-troops-trump.html https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a6443674858b542e0c3cbcbe63e81549320515bef49a4ecdfd9ad0cc49214118.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/62754cd2bf55b14122a60a5d8b7e96544eb9309f3aebc03778c59223fc578ce4.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9233b79bf0f1f9b8f7a67a52e39b2ee3a7e8291495be6f9bec8d767f4c6eb311.jpg
Craig Murray says that while chances are very high that Baraitser will judge that Assange should be deported it is quite plausible that the extradition of Assange will be blocked in appeal by judges at a higher level. This makes me wonder about the original claim that Obama decided that invoking the espionage act would set a precedent which would be too damaging for journalism.
What does this mean? There still was a policy to ‘get Assange and wikileaks’ so how far would it go? Did they consider legal steps which might take indefinite time before failing or before being withdrawn ‘because of concerns for out democracy’? Or did they decide not even to take the legal steps, after seriously considering them ?
This brings us to the problem of Kafkaian prosecution. First 8 years confinement in the embassy, the last years under ever tightening restrictions.Then nevermind that rape accusation, we’ll condemn him to extreme punishment for jumping bail. And then we keep him in the same place because the US asks for him. In if in the end that approach expires, find something else. This is a way to keep torturing – and deterring everyone else – without ever requiring any serious conviction.
Right now the horizon is higher level appeal. Until then Assange is locked up under inhumane circumstances which he may not survive or only survive in part. After that what other reasons will they come up with. A new request for extradition?