Julian Assange’s father says extraditing the Wikileaks co-founder to the US is akin to a death sentence
- John Shipton said he feared the worst for his son’s health should he be extradited
- Julian Assange’s extradition hearing is due to open in London next week
- It will open against a backdrop of allegations about his treatment in prison
Extraditing WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US would be akin to sentencing him to death, his father has said.
John Shipton said he feared the worst for his son’s health should the US lawyers win their battle to see Assange face 18 charges over leaked defence cables a decade ago.
Assange’s extradition hearing is due to open in London next week, though a decision is unlikely to be handed down for several months – and even then, it is likely the losing side would appeal.
The hearing is due to open against a backdrop of allegations from Assange’s supporters about his treatment in Belmarsh Prison, including a spell in solitary confinement, they said.
John Shipton said he feared the worst for his son’s health should the US lawyers win their battle to see Assange face 18 charges over leaked defence cables a decade ago.
Following a media briefing in central London, Mr Shipton said: ‘The extradition is a death sentence – it’s the culmination of 10 years of lies, physiological torture of every sort.
‘His condition has improved, I saw him last week.
‘They have a (fitness) schedule (at Belmarsh) – you could hardly say it’s fresh air.
‘It’s four walls with a grille on the top and you can stand in the rain.’
Asked if his son’s treatment amounted to torture, Mr Shipton said: ‘Absolutely.’
He added: ‘The extradition ought to be immediately dropped.
‘If that’s not done then the minister concerned can give me a ring and I’ll go out to the jail and pick up Julian as I have a home here … he has substantial support in the community so he can come home and fight his case from house arrest or bail. It’s no problem.’
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange leaves Westminster Magistrates Court, London, where he was appearing for an administrative hearing relating to his extradition to the United States in January earlier this year
Mr Shipton said footage of his son being ‘dragged out of the (Ecuadorian) Embassy’ – where he spent several years seeking refuge against extradition to Sweden over sex assault charges which he denied and were subsequently dropped – was the lowest moment of the last 10 years.
But he said he was able to offer a little levity during his prison visits through ‘gossip’ about women.
He said: ‘Mostly when we first go in we gossip a little about friends, and children and the women in our lives and the mothers of our children, that brings the fruits of ordinary life into the jail.’
Mr Shipton declined to elaborate on any love interest for his son, following previous speculation linking him with former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, one of his many celebrity supporters.
But he said such high-profile backing helped keep Assange’s cause in the forefront of people’s minds.
He said: ‘I imagine Julian finds it moralising, helpful.
‘I imagine that his morale may increase because high-profile supporters mean that newspapers and television channels report it, journalists take notice and become assistants in reporting what has happened.’
Mr Shipton said he and his son plan to conquer Spain’s Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route upon Assange’s release.
He said: ‘Julian decided to do it without me – he does it without me in his cell.
‘In 18 months, I hope we do it together.’