A torture expert for the United Nations renewed calls Tuesday for British authorities to release jailed WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange a decade and a day since he was first arrested in London.
Nils Melzer, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, called on the U.K. to immediately let Mr. Assange out of a London prison where dozens of inmates have reportedly contracted the novel coronavirus.
Mr. Melzer, a longtime advocate for Mr. Assange, denied there is reason to keep him incarcerated and implored British authorities to let him be placed under house arrest if they insist he be held.
“Mr. Assange is not a criminal convict and poses no threat to anyone, so his prolonged solitary confinement in a high security prison is neither necessary nor proportionate and clearly lacks any legal basis,” Mr. Melzer said in a statement.
“Mr. Assange’s rights have been severely violated for more than a decade. He must now be allowed to live a normal family, social and professional life, to recover his health and to adequately prepare his defense against the U.S. extradition request pending against him,” he said.
Mr. Assange, an Australian, was arrested in London on Dec. 7, 2010, in connection with a sex crimes investigation in Sweden that ultimately ended several years later without him facing any charges.
While under house arrest before that rape probe ended, Mr. Assange sought asylum inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London instead of surrendering to Swedish authorities.
Mr. Assange resided in the compound for about seven years before he was arrested in April 2019 and found guilty and sentenced for having violated the terms of his house arrest by entering the embassy.
The Department of Justice has since charged Mr. Assange with violating the U.S. Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for WikiLeaks soliciting, receiving and publishing classified documents.
More than a decade since WikiLeaks released those documents, a British court is set to rule next month whether to extradite Mr. Assange to the U.S., where he faces the possibility of more prison time.
Mr. Assange has been held at Belmarsh Prison in London in the 20 months since he was most recently arrested. While originally jailed for jumping bail, he is now being held pending further proceedings.
In addition to other concerns about jailing Mr. Assange at Belmarsh, Mr. Melzer said 65 of roughly 160 inmates there have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, the potentially deadly respiratory disease the coronavirus causes.
“Prison decongestion measures seen around the world in response to COVID-19 should be extended to all inmates whose imprisonment is not absolutely necessary,” Mr. Melzer said in a statement. “First and foremost, alternative non-custodial measures should be extended to those with specific vulnerabilities such as Mr. Assange who suffers from a pre-existing respiratory health condition.”
Mr. Assange, 49, argues he acted as a journalist by leaking the material, including classified military and diplomatic documents former Army analyst Chelsea Manning admittedly supplied to his site.
Stella Morris, Mr. Assange’s partner, pleaded last month for President Trump to pardon the father of her children.
“I beg you, please bring him home for Christmas,” Ms. Morris posted on Twitter.
Edward J. Snowden, a former U.S. contractor also charged under the Espionage Act for leaking classified material, recently called for Mr. Trump to pardon Mr. Assange, as well.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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