Julian Assange held in ‘sordid’ solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day, says father John Shipton said it was ‘extraordinary’ his son was being held in such harsh prison conditions, adding his health was deteriorating

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is being kept in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day, despite being due for release earlier in September, says his father.

John Shipton described the treatment of his son, who is currently imprisoned in London’s top security prison Belmarsh, as “sordid and hysterical”.

In an interview with the Press Association, Mr Shipton said it was “extraordinary” that his son was being held in such harsh prison conditions, adding that his health was deteriorating.

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“The only people who are breaking the law are the UK Government and the Crown Prosecution Service,” he said.

‘Distressing’

“I last visited Julian in August – he was a bit shaky, and is suffering from anxiety. He has lost a lot of weight. It is very distressing, and the intensity of his treatment has increased over the past year.

“He is being subjected to every sort of torment,” he said.

Mr Shipton also expressed his surprise at a report in Spanish newspaper El Pais that a private security firm hired to protect the Ecuadorian embassy spied on him for US intelligence services.

Mr Shipton said that laser microphones and video cameras were installed to monitor conversations, even in the toilets.

“We could not say anything without it being recorded, and it looks like they wanted to sell it to the CIA – in fact they were actually selling Julian,” he said.

‘A courageous truth teller’

On Saturday, Mr Shipton will accept the Gavin MacFadyen Award outside Belmarsh prison on behalf of his son.

The awarding body, which recognises and supports whistleblowers, describes Mr Assange as a “courageous truth teller”.

Mr Assange has been serving time for a bail violation after being removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lived for almost seven years, as he fought moves to extradite him to the US under multiple charges, including espionage, the obtaining and disclosure of national defence information and rape.

He now faces a US extradition hearing in February 2020, where he could be sentenced to 175 years behind bars.

‘Collective persecution’ must cease

Following a visit to see Mr Assange in May, Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture, condemned “the deliberate, concerted and sustained nature of the abuse inflicted on Mr Assange”, adding that the “collective persecution” must cease.

“The evidence is overwhelming and clear,” he said.

“Mr. Assange has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture.”