Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Founding father WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is said to have suffered a minor stroke in prison due to the stress of facing his fate which is in danger of being extradited to United States of America.
Assange’s fiancé, Stella Morris, said the pair suffered a minor stroke on the first day the US appealed against his extradition in late October.
“I believe the constant court games, battle after battle, extreme stress, that’s what caused Julian to have a stroke on October 27th,” Morris said on Twitter on Saturday (11/12). AFP.
Moris was worried that this condition could make Assange’s stroke worse. He is also concerned that his fiance’s illness will affect his ability to withstand the extradition process.
“She needs to be released. Now,” Moris insisted.
The Mail newspaper said Assange’s illness was a transient ischemic attack, in which the blood supply to part of the brain is temporarily interrupted.
The disease left Assange with memory loss, signs of neurological damage, and a drooping right eyelid. Assange now has to take medicine.
Meanwhile, the United States currently wants to prosecute Assange for leaking thousands of classified military documents about the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq released by WikiLeaks in 2010.
In January, a district judge in London, England, dismissed a US application to extradite Assange citing a suicide risk if he was transferred.
However, the United States appealed and two judges at the Appellate Court in England granted the White House request on bail.
Meanwhile, Assange’s lawyers said they would take the case to the Supreme Court.
Previously, Assange’s lawyers had raised concerns about the effect the lengthy detention had on his client’s physical and mental health.
Assange has spent seven years taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012.
However, the Ecuadorian Embassy expelled him in 2019 which led to Assange’s arrest. Assange is now in British custody pending his extradition to the US.
(isa/rds/bac)
– .
