Suicidal Julian Assange hears 'voices' in prison
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange , claims to hear voices and music in prison and exhibits suicidal behavior, said a psychiatrist on Tuesday, during a hearing before a London court dealing with the demand for extradition to the United States.
The 49-year-old Australian poses a “very high” risk of suicide if he were extradited to the United States, where he would be tried for the dissemination of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents, Michael Kopelman, who has met about 20 times with Assange’
The expert mentioned that he detected “severe depression” and “psychotic symptoms” in Assange, such as auditory hallucinations in his cell in the high security prison in Belmarsh, near London.
Julian Assange told the psychiatrist that he heard voices telling him: “You are dust, you are dead, we are coming to find you.”
The conditions of detention of the founder of Wikileaks have already been denounced by the UN rapporteur on torture.
Assange’s suicidal instincts have their origin in “clinical factors”, but “the imminence of the extradition will activate attempts” to commit suicide, according to the psychiatrist, who estimated that his condition “will deteriorate considerably” if he is transferred to the United States.
Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, also expressed her fear that he would take his own life and leave his two children fatherless.
James Lewis, a US government representative, asked Kopelman several questions about the veracity of some of Assange’s claims and suggested that they could have been fabricated.
