Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture, believes Julian Assange is a victim of psychological torture.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture says of Julian #Assange: “In 20 years of work with victims of war and political persecution I have never seen democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual. with so little regard for the law.”
— John Pilger (@johnpilger) May 31, 2019
Melzer made his assessment after visiting Assange at the Belmarsh prison where the WikiLeaks founder remains interned on the bogus charge he skipped bail by seeking political asylum at the Ecuadoran embassy in London.
"He [Assange]"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," – Nils Melzer, U.N. special rapporteur on torturehttps://t.co/c32B9RxrSb
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 31, 2019
“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.
“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.”
.@NilsMelzer is the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture. He is "extremely worried" about Julian Assange's health, and says it's clear he's been psychologically tortured. He adds that Assange "seems to have rapidly deteriorated" in recent weeks. pic.twitter.com/z4Uap9X5Tn
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) May 31, 2019
Melzer also said he has not witnessed such ill-treatment of an individual during his long career as an academic, author, and practitioner in the field of international law.
“But [Assange] is really something I’ve never seen in 20 years,” Melzer said. “I’ve seen atrocities in war areas that were physically more horrible but I’ve never seen a single person pursued so relentlessly and with so little foundation.https://t.co/vUzkswWmjj
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 31, 2019
The UN special rapporteur’s report will be ignored by Britain and the United States. Both “democracies” have repeatedly demonstrated over a period of nearly two decades they are serial violators of international law.
“I’ve come here to show support for a distinguished fellow journalist” @johnpilger.
Supporters of Julian Assange gathered outside Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday. The @wikileaks founder was too ill to appear and has been transferred to the medical wing of Belmarsh. pic.twitter.com/mmcTE2PlNY
— RT UK (@RTUKnews) May 31, 2019
