Breaking news: a series of articles has been published by the Guardian concerning Julian Assange, splashed over the front pages. The big reveal? That after the UK threatened to invade the Ecuadorean embassy, Ecuador beefed up its security and surveillance at said embassy. And that this costs money. And there is pressure to find a solution to a situation that has been described by the United Nations as illegal and arbitrary detention.

Lost in the lede was this: that Ecuador appears to be hoping “that Assange’s already uncomfortable confinement will become intolerable”. The Oxford dictionary defines “intolerable” as “unbearable, insufferable, unsupportable, insupportable, unendurable, beyond endurance, unacceptable, impossible, more than flesh and blood can stand, too much to bear, past bearing, not to be borne, overpowering (…)”.

Isn’t the headline story that the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks remains detained without access to fundamental healthcare? And since March this year, has been cut off from the outside world, bar meetings with his lawyers, which have apparently been surveilled?

Revealed: Ecuador spent millions on spy operation for Julian Assange Read more

Assange has won numerous awards for publishing information that has exposed egregious violations of human rights and abuses of state power. He has also won the more dubious prize of being placed in the crosshairs of US government attempts to silence free speech by silencing the publications and publishers that dare to speak freely.

In 2012, Ecuador recognised Assange’s right to asylum due to the risks of persecution and cruel treatment that he faces in the US as a result of his legitimate publishing activities. Since that date, the threats against Assange have escalated.

The US secretary of state has declared that first amendment protections (the right to freedom of expression) don’t apply to Assange, and the US Department of Justice has promised that his arrest is a priority, one that has probably moved up even further after the New York Times described WikiLeaks’ Vault 7 publications as the biggest leak in CIA history.

This week’s articles highlight the existence of security to protect Assange and his guests, but fail to note that an intruder attempted to break into the embassy in 2016. They fail to note that the latest “revelations” underscore the extent to which Assange has been denied basic rights, including the right to privacy and the right to enjoy privileged communications with his lawyers. And they fail to note that right to asylum equates to an inalienable right to protection; it is not a “gift” that can be revoked to placate bullies or bribers.

There is a series of newsworthy articles concerning Assange that should be displayed prominently in a newspaper such as the Guardian. I think it is shocking that Assange has been detained arbitrarily for approximately eight years for publishing evidence of war crimes and human rights violations. The UK could end this situation today, by providing assurances that Assange will not be extradited to the United States.

It is also shocking that at a time when Ecuador is attempting to obtain a diplomatic solution, the media is focussing on stories likely to bolster the position of the UK’s Goliath to Ecuador’s David.

Assange and I come from a country that often delights in executing the tall poppy syndrome – cutting down those who reach greater heights than we are prepared to condone. But it is also a country that subscribes to the right to a “fair go”, that is, to speak your mind, to have a fair chance. Assange is an easy target, but he is also one that can’t speak his mind.

I am grateful for the Guardian for giving me this opportunity to present these views to the diverse readership that respects and supports the Guardian’s stated aim of independent reporting in the liberal tradition.

And I hope journalists reporting on this predicament will bear in mind that comment is free, but Julian Assange is not.

• Melinda Taylor is a lawyer specialising in human rights and international criminal law who represents Julian Assange