Julian Assange’s mother Christine breaks her silence and reveals her agony as her son remains in jail
The mother of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange explained why she will not be celebrating Christmas again, and what she misses about her son.
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Exclusive: The mother of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will not be celebrating Christmas again this year.
Distraught that her son remains in the notorious Belmarsh prison, Australian Christine Assange said she has nothing to mark.
“All I want for Christmas is my son Julian to be home safe with his family, under the protection of his country, to be free from this nine-year unlawful and brutal political persecution and to heal from the human rights abuses and torture which have damaged his mind and body,” said Ms Assange.
Unable to speak with her son since he was jailed earlier this year, Ms Assange said all she has for Christmas this year are memories.
“Our Christmases were never boring. Julian would delight the children in the family with special Christmas performances,” said Ms Assange, in her first interview since his imprisonment.
She revealed he would delight the children with a trick involving shaving sparklers and putting them in the mouth of a tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur toy, lighting it, giving the impression that he was alive and breathing fire.
She said Julian had a lot of fun with his own son Daniel, decorating the Christmas tree.
“He was a devoted, innovative and playful father,” she said.
“Julian would love to string up the fairy lights …. we would make homemade decorations together.
“Julian’s Christmas presents were always very thoughtful. “He chose presents for the children in the family that would encourage curiosity, creativity and inventiveness.” “He would give me art books and materials because he knew I had a passion for art.”
“I really miss our family Christmases … they have never been the same without him. There is something missing. We haven’t had a proper family Christmas since he has been detained … nothing is the same”.
“If he ends up in US hands, there will be a show trial and there will be nothing fair or just about it. He will never see the light of day again. He is accused of engaging in multi-award winning journalism, not hurting anyone.”
Ms Assange has urged the Australian public to support the fight to stop Julian’s extradition to the United States to face espionage charges and to urge the Australian Government to bring Julian Home
Assange, an Australian citizen, is facing 175 years prison if extradited to the US and convicted on espionage charges.
The unprecedented prosecution relates to the publication of documents provided to WikiLeaks by whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
Assange attracted the attention of the United States when Wikileaks and several media outlets published hundreds of thousands of secret US documents and a video about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan which contained evidence of war crimes.
Ms Assange said he sought and was granted asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 because of US threats against him for his work with Wikileaks.
But earlier this year the new President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, reportedly under pressure from the US, declined to give him further asylum and he was dragged out of the Embassy and detained in Belmarsh ahead of extradition proceedings to the US.
He has been in solitary confinement since.
In August, Assange was transferred to the health ward after his mental and physical health deteriorated.
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Ms Assange spoke out after more than 100 doctors from around the world put the Morrison government on notice that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s health is deteriorating so rapidly, he might die in jail.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister Marise Payne, the doctors urged the government to intervene and get him medical treatment before it is too late.
“It is an extremely serious matter for an Australian citizen’s survival to be endangered by a foreign government,” the letter said.
The doctors are concerned that the psychological stress he has been under – which is akin to psychological torture is manifesting in physical ailments and he could suffer a stroke, cardiac arrest or other fatal health problem at any time.
Last month more than 60 medical doctors wrote to the UK Government urging that Assange be transferred from Belmarsh maximum-security prison to a university teaching hospital for expert medical assessment and care.
The doctors have warned the medical risks facing Assange are inherently unpredictable.
They said his medical status is precarious, the potentially fatal medical consequences of prolonged psychological torture could strike at any time and no medical assessment protocols are capable of determining precisely when and how the damaging impacts could manifest.
The UN Special Rapporteur Professor Nils Melzer, who visited Assange earlier this year, has already said he could collapse at any moment.