WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s father says US is ‘slowly murdering’ his son

John Shipton says extradition trial has been ‘unbearable’ as Assange faces three-month wait for result

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  Supporters protest outside the trial of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Old Bailey in London. EPA

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  Assange is fighting being extradited to the US on charges relating to leaks of classified documents. EPA

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  Julian Assange's partner Stella Moris delivers a statement. EPA

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  A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wearing a face mask is seen outside the Old Bailey. Reuters

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  Protestors gather outside the Old Bailey in London. AP Photo

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  Julian Assange's father, John Shipton watches as balloons with the statement 'Free Assange' are released outside the Old Bailey. AFP

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  The balloons are released into the London sky. AFP

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  Mr Assange has been in custody at Belmarsh prison in London since April 2019. EPA

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s father says his son’s four-week UK extradition trial has been “unbearable”.

Speaking after the hearing on Friday, John Shipton said his son is being “slowly murdered” before his eyes.

Mr Assange, an Australian national, is presently facing a three-month wait to discover if he will be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges where he could be handed a sentence of up to 175 years in prison.

The extradition hearing at London's Old Bailey ended on Thursday with District Judge Vanessa Baraitser telling the court she will deliver her ruling in January.

US prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret American military documents a decade ago, largely relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Parts of the hearing were unbearable,” Mr Shipton said.

“The psychological testimonies where his inner life was exposed to the world, it was not very comfortable at all.

“It is now moving into the 11th year of his arbitrary detention for a person who has done nothing. What has happened before our eyes is a progressive slow murder.”

He said that the threat of  a 175-year sentence in a US prison under special administrative measures was a “trajectory to destroy someone, that is clear to me”.

Mr Shipton had not been able to see his son in Belmarsh prison since before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and revealed that Mr Assange is only allowed to see his children for 45 minutes once a month, during which they are not allowed to embrace.

Mr Shipton has renewed calls for the Australian government to intervene in his son’s case and says he will continue to advocate for their help when he returns to the country in November.

“I would like to say to the Australian government that silence on their behalf can only be seen as complicity and that is not a great position,” he said.

“It would be a simple matter to resolve this diplomatically.”

Mr Assange has been in custody at Belmarsh prison in London since April 2019 and is expected to appear in court via video link every 28 days between now and the January ruling.

“Unless any further application for bail is made, and between now and January, you will remain in custody for the same reasons as have been given to you before,” Judge Baraitser told Mr Assange on Thursday.

The judge previously denied him bail over fears he is a flight risk.

Mr Assange jumped bail in 2012 when he sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he stayed for seven years before being evicted and arrested.

“It’s a fight for Julian’s life, a fight for press freedom and a fight for the truth,” Stella Moris, his fiancée and the mother of his two young children, said.

Mr Assange’s legal team has asked for four weeks to submit its closing argument, that will be followed two weeks later by the closing argument of the lawyers prosecuting on behalf of the US government.

His barrister Jennifer Robinson said the Trump administration is taking a “political objective” to put him in prison.

The legal teams will now be looking with interest at the US presidential election on November 3.

If Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump it could see a change in US policy.