More than 60 doctors have written an open letter saying they feared Julian Assange's health was so bad that the WikiLeaks founder could die inside a top-security British prison.
The 48-year-old, who spent seven years holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London before he was dragged out in April, is wanted in the United States to face 18 counts including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law. He could spend decades in prison if convicted.
The 16-page letter, published by WikiLeaks on Monday, said Assange suffers from psychological problems including depression as well as dental issues and a serious shoulder ailment.
Addressing Home Secretary Priti Patel, the British interior minister, the doctors called for the Australian to be moved from Belmarsh prison in southeast London to a university hospital.
They based their assessment on "harrowing eyewitness accounts" of his October 21 court appearance in London and a November 1 report by Nils Melzer, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture.
The independent UN rights expert said Assange's "continued exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life".
"Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr Assange could die in prison. The medical situation is thereby urgent. There is no time to lose," the doctors said.
They are from the US, Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Sri Lanka, Poland.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
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