Julian Assange Permitted To Marry In Belmarsh Prison

Monday, 14 March 2022, 12:22 pm
Press Release: Unity4J - Unity For Julian Assange

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been given permission to marry his fiancée Stella Morris in the maximum security Belmarsh prison in London, on March 23. Stella is a member of his legal team and mother of his two young children. The couple had to fight for their right to marry, even bringing legal action against the UK Government.

Julian and Stella will be dressed by Vivienne Westwood. Julian will wear a kilt, honouring his Scottish ancestry. The couple are said to be very excited despite the severe restrictions imposed on the ceremony. They will be permitted only four guests and have been denied the request to marry in the prison's Chapel, despite the fact that Julian regularly worships their.

Stella told the Daily Mail that the right to marry is 'written into law' in the UK. 'Of course, the circumstances are not ideal but I am relieved that reason has prevailed and I hope there will be no further interference with our marriage. Julian is not charged with any crime in this country, he is not serving a sentence, his imprisonment serves no purpose at all other than to prolong and make his suffering worse. I hope the injustice of this situation is swiftly brought to an end so that we can enjoy marriage outside of the walls of Belmarsh when he is freed.'

'The Australian Government is failing to protect a citizen.'

'I would have expected Austrlaia to take steps to protect their natural citizen... to protect him from this excessive persecution that he's experiencing currently.'

Assange is in the notorious Belmarsh prison despite not being convicted of anything. He is awaiting the outcome of a US extradition request to face charges of 'espionage' for publishing evidence of war crimes and torture. Press freedom groups warn this is an unprecedented prosecution would criminalise fundamental journalistic practices.

Assange recently suffered a minor stroke, and doctors warn this will likely lead to a fatal stroke if his conditions are not improved quickly. He is detained in solitary confinement 23 hours per day, which fits the definition of torture under international law. The Australian Government has been criticised for 'sitting on their hands' over one of their citizens. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer said The Australian Government as 'failed to support Julian Assange, and is complicit in his psychological torture.'

Helen Clark recently said on Assange 'You do wonder when the hatchet can be buried with Assange? And not buried in his head by the way. But at some point, could people move on? I do think that the information that's been disclosed by whistleblowers down through the ages has been very important in broader publics getting to know what is really going on behind the scenes. And should people pay this kind of price for that? I don't think so... The real issue really is the activities they were exposing, not their actions of exposure.'

Aoteroa 4 Assange is calling on the New Zealand Government to stand for Assange to protect human rights, the public's right to know and peace.

© Scoop Media

Unity4J - Unity For Julian Assange

A solidarity effort to secure the freedom of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange

It has been months since Julian's internet access and visitation rights at the embassy were abruptly revoked by the Ecuadorian government. In response supporters swiftly organized #ReconnectJulian, a 10-hour-long online vigil event where friends and supporters of Julian came together to speak for the voiceless. We are now once again organizing a massive event in support of Assange and WikiLeaks. This collaboration has birthed #Unity4J - An upcoming series of events taking place on the first weekend of each month.

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