Medical doctors who wrote to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel last month calling for urgent action to protect the life of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday issued a further urgent appeal.
Despite worldwide media coverage of their open letter, more than 80 medical doctors have received no response from the UK government. Their letter was sent on Nov. 22. The doctors are now calling on the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice to intervene.
“We reiterate our grave concern that Mr Assange could die of deliberate medical negligence in a British prison and demand an urgent response from the UK Government”, the doctors write. Their second open letter has been sent to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice the Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC.
“In our open letter, we urged the UK Government to change course immediately and transfer Mr Assange from Belmarsh Prison to a university teaching hospital for appropriate expert medical assessment and care. So far, we have received no substantive reply from the UK Government, nor has receipt of our letter been acknowledged.
“In our opinion, the UK Government’s conduct in this matter is irresponsible, incompatible with medical ethics and unworthy of a democratic society bound by the rule of law.”
The full text of the doctors’ open letter to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice is HERE. The letter was also sent to the Home Secretary.
Dr Bob Gill General Medical Practitioner MBChB MRCGP (UK) “The continued detention of Julian Assange in his reported physical and psychological state is inhumane and a flagrant neglect of his right to access essential medical care. These shameful actions are those of a repressive dictatorship not a democracy and must be reversed.”
Dr Sue Wareham OAM MBBS General Medical Practitioner (retired) (Australia) “The Australian government’s failure to speak out to protect an Australian citizen whose life is at risk is utterly shameful, as is the UK government’s failure to respond to the recent urgent open letter regarding Julian Assange’s health. Nations that call themselves civilised are keeping a man incarcerated, deprived of adequate health care, at risk of death, for the “crime” of publishing material that shed light on alleged war crimes. The Australian government should, at the very least, insist that Assange receive the health care he needs.”
Dr Richard House Chartered Psychologist, former psychotherapist and senior university lecturer (UK) “The disgraceful treatment of Julian Assange should become a General Election issue, and the current government and Home Secretary held robustly to account for what appears to be deliberately inflicted suffering.”
Dr Victoria Abdelnur MD Specialist in Integrative Trauma Therapy (Germany and Argentina) “The global medical community is watching, we know he needs urgent proper health care, and if he does not receive it soon, it will be crystal clear we are governed by criminals. The popular backlash will have astronomic proportions.”
Dr Stephen Frost BSc MBChB Specialist in Diagnostic Radiology (UK and Sweden) “How and why did it ever come about that five states–the UK, the US, Australia, Sweden and Ecuador—seemingly deliberately and cruelly conspired against one human being? We agree with the assessment of Nils Melzer, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, that Julian Assange has been ‘psychologically tortured’ in the centre of London of all places.
“The torture must stop now, and Mr Assange must be provided with immediate access to the health care which he so obviously needs before it is too late. That doctors should have to write open letters to the UK government to demand appropriate health care for a victim of torture is beyond belief.”
The full text of the Nov. 22 open letter and list of signatories can be found here. For further comment please contact:[email protected]
First the doctors. Then the intellectuals. Now the journalists as well.
490 journalists and people in journalism-related roles have so far signed:
Speak up for Assange
International journalist statement in defence of Julian Assange
speak-up-for-assange.org
The greedy egos of our most powerful politicians cannot admit that they are now completely out of control in their quests for ever more power, money, and bigoted control over others (including their own populace) even when their heinous acts are exposed for all to see. Instead, they profess outrage that such ‘top secret’ actions were uncovered instead of acknowledging the evil perpetrated and recognising that they are culprits of the worst kind. Their insistence in attacking the messenger while defending the indefensible is fast taking us all down the road to dystopia.
If Krsna wish… he will be freed!
The once proud leaders of the British Empire now lick the boots of Donald Trump and his minions.
Western Governments of the world against one man and the truth……
Bullied and controlled by the US empire feining democracy to establish their dictatorship on the world
Pedophiles and Royals committing crimes against children walk free to flaunt the supposed law whilst an innocent man that exposes the horrendous crimes committed by ALL government’s is tortured in plain sight.
This is the world now
The presence of such qualities as liberty, equality, and justice in societies is in inverse proportion to their proclamation. -John J. Norris, A History of Venice
That tells you all you need to know. The US and its vassal states have been quietly admitting the truth in a backhanded way for some time now.
Julian is non state. He owes no allegiance to any nation and he favors no state’s secrets or deception. He favors global transparency. He is anti fascist.
The United States Constitution, Amendment I : “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
This is the mandate for the US Congress, yet the US Justice Department applies laws passed by Congress to abridge the freedom of speech and of the press in the arrest, incarceration and torture of Julian Assange– and the US Congress allows it without a peep. The Congress, like Pontius Pilate, can argue all it wants that it can “wash its hands” of responsibility for the treatment of Assange, because it passed no law “abridging freedom of the press.” But the Congress’ commitment to the First Amendment is exposed as a bloody charade — it allows laws that it passed to be twisted and distorted to abridge that sacred freedom.
Thanks Consortium News for publishing about the L’Affaire Dreyfus. Assange did not sell secrets to anyone — his publishing exposed crimes against humanity for all the world to see.
That was his biggest crime. He confirmed what the rest of have long suspected. The government’s secrecy is now out in the open.
Anti-constitutional behaviour indeed, but against a foreign ‘threat’ all punches are allowed. The root cause? A tremendous 4th political power (the first three are subject to separation of powers) is dictating its own laws and limits without democratic oversight. This power is colluding with the military industrial complex, and it is poisoning the legislative, judicial and executive branches. Neither Democrats or Republicans are willing or able to stand up to it. This power knows your political affiliation, background, education, work, it knows your every move and action. The 3 constitutionally recognized powers do not. How does this influence the behaviour of the political leadership? Pervasively. Had the early enlightened thinkers of democracy known anything like this would be possible, our Western constitutions may have included some additional checks and balances.
Neither UK Home Secretary Priti Patel nor the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice the Rt Hon Robert Buckland QC have any worries about a well-known child molester and procuress of minors for pedophiles Ghislaine Maxwell who has been living in London and having properties in the UK. Despite her heinous crimes, Ghislaine Maxwell has not been arrested and interrogated, still. Who are those powerful Brits that have been protecting the criminal Madam/Mossad agent from justice?
The UK judicial system looks ridiculous, miserable, totally corrupt when the case of Ghislaine Maxwell (the real criminal) is juxtaposed with the case of Assange (the principled journalist who helped to expose crimes against humanity).
The whole UK government should be looked upon as a corrupt organization in service to Mossad.
Amazing. The hypocrisy of the Empire has no bounds. The Empire has no shame.
Randy Andy and Epstein fit that description.
When Nils Melzer sent his report on Assange showing signs of psychlogical torture to the UK government there was no reaction for five months. Then Homesecretary Jeremy Hunt answered in a tweet! The German Foreign Ministry did not even read the reports. Shame on these scoundrels!
Western politicans are criminels who don’t know how to hehave. Nobody to be compared with Lawrow and even Putin. If Assange should be free one day the only place for him to be secure would be in Russia.
All the best, Julian!
Free Assange! Free Manning!