Julian Assange’s Living Conditions ‘Akin to Stasi-Era …

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18:37 13.01.2019Get short URL

As Cassandra Fairbanks, Assanges friend and colleague, came to see him in his London confinement, they attempted to change location, which was heavily equipped with cameras, for a different one. However, an embassy staffer immediately butted in and demanded that the pair return, amid sounds of microphones picking up conversations in the building.

US political commentator Cassandra Fairbanks came tovisit Julian Assange inthe Ecuadorian Embassy inLondon, where he has been staying since2012 and shortly afterwards commented onhis living conditions as akin toa political dissident inStasi-era Germany.

She claimed that she had had her phone checked and all oftheir conversations recorded duringher visit, notably not the first one tothe embassy, withthe surreal conditions being more invasive thanvisiting someone ina federal penitentiary. According toFairbanks, fears that their talk would be recorded under pressure fromthe US made them try exchanging written notes.

Unable tospeak privately, even witha noise machine attempting tomuffle the microphones frompicking upconversations, we resorted topassing notes.

She took note ofan increased number ofcameras around, ascompared toher previous visit. The pair, she said, tried tochange location toone which they thought housed less surveillance equipment, butmoments later were asked toreturn tothe initial room, which they did passing throughthe hall, every single angle ofwhich was recorded by a forest ofmenacingly Orwellian black cameras.

READ MORE:Ecuadorian Court Dismisses Assange's Appeal onEmbassy 'Living Restrictions'

Fairbanks pointed outthat Assange was surprisingly in good spirits despitebeing monitored by some shadowy state actor alongwith a string of efforts fromthe US and Ecuador tomake his life a living hell. Its likea scene fromthe Stasi spy drama The Lives ofOthers, Fairbanks noted, adding that inthe age of fake news, the work ofWikiLeaks should be celebrated, not persecuted.

If we value the principle ofthe freedom ofspeech we must do something tostop this madness, she called her readers.

Assanges supporters, including acting diva and now avid social activist Pamela Anderson, have publicly stood upin the WikiLeaks founders defence lately, asking forhis safe return toAustralia, afterreports emerged ofthe deteriorating conditions he has tolive in. Even a legal defence fund was launched forAssange amidfears that his life is under increasingly serious threat and media reports ofAssanges extremely dire living conditions.

REUTERS / Peter Nicholls

Ecuador has denied reports that the WikiLeaks publisher had been made tosleep onthe floor and even deprived ofheating inthe premises he lives in. In a statement, the president's communication secretary dismissed the claims as "totally false" and said that the embassy's heating system "is working normally". Meanwhile, the WikiLeaks founder was restricted both withregard topersonal visits and internet access in2018 overalleged violations ofhis terms ofasylum. Following repeated demands fromhis supporters and lawyers, his internet access was partially restored.

Last month, Ecuador said conditions had been met forthe embassy's guest toleave, asBritain had issued guarantees that it wouldn't extradite him toany country where his life would be indanger. In a parallel development, WikiLeaks reported oninsights inNovember that there is some type ofa sealed indictment againstAssange back inthe US, which suggested that Washington might ultimately seek his extradition if he leaves the embassy.

READ MORE:'Assange is a Hero': Wikileaks Revealed US Crimes inConflict Zones Campaigner

Julian Assange, now 47 years old, requested asylum inthe Ecuadorian Embassy inLondon soil in2012 afterit emerged that Britain could extradite him toSweden, where he was wanted overallegations ofsexual offences, which he stated were part ofa ruse todeliver him tothe US.

Sweden dropped its charges inMay 2017, butAssange feared atthe time that he would instead be extradited tothe United States toface prosecution overWikiLeaks publication ofhighly-classified leaked US military and diplomatic cables, including those related tothe Iraq War.

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Julian Assange's Living Conditions 'Akin to Stasi-Era ...