At least 117 physicians and psychologists from 18 countries have signed an open letter demanding Julian Assange be released to receive proper medical care. However, with this being the second call of its kind, it’s unclear if the British government will answer the medical officials’ request for an “end to the psychological torture” of Assange.
Dr. Bill Hogan, a medical researcher and educator at the University of Florida and one of the signatories of the latest open letter on Assange’s condition, joined Radio Sputnik’s Loud and Clear on Wednesday to discuss the WikiLeaks co-founder’s condition, the recently-published letter and what is at stake if Assange is not allowed proper medical attention.
“The key thing that prompted [the open letter] was Craig Murray’s observations of Julian’s administrative hearing back in October, where Julian was disoriented and even had trouble recalling his own name,” Hogan told hosts Brian Becker and John Kiriakou.
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Hogan noted that the recent release actually came about after a November 22, 2019, open letter signed by “more than 65 eminent medical doctors from the UK and around the world” who cited Murray’s observation of Assange during his October 21, 2019, hearing at a London court – the WikiLeaks co-founder’s first public appearance in months.
As for Assange’s possible extradition to the US, Hogan said that he believes that “if the UK followed its own law and its own precedent and the advice of medical experts from the UK and around the world, then they would absolutely not send Julian Assange to the United States.”
However, he noted, “unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like law and precedent are applicable in [Assange’s] case.”
Hogan went on to mention that Melzer has consistently highlighted that Assange has not been given a fair trial. In late December, Melzer took to social media and slammed the UK government over its refusal to provide proper medical care to Assange and the lack of an “impartial investigation.”
The UN official concluded by asserting that the UK government should “retract their authorization” for Assange to be extradited to the US and release the WikiLeaks co-founder from prison “without further delay” so that he may receive the proper care.
“Should Assange die in a UK prison, as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has warned, he will effectively have been tortured to death,” read the open letter published in The Lancet.
Hogan explained that even if listeners are not medical professionals, they can make a change by calling their senators or other government representatives and urging them to free Assange by dropping the extradition request, the Espionage Act of 1917 charge and the additional charge related to hacking.
The views and opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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