Dazed Assange struggles in court
Julian Assange struggled to say his own name and told a hearing yesterday on his possible extradition to the United States that he could not think properly.
The Wikileaks founder, 48, who faces charges linked to leaks of hundreds of thousands of classified military documents, mumbled and stuttered as his application to delay the case was refused.
He appeared to struggle to give his name and date of birth at the hearing, which was attended by Ken Livingstone, the former mayor of London.
As the case was adjourned until December, Assange said he had not understood the proceedings. ‘‘This is not equitable. I can’t research anything, I can’t access any of my writing,’’ he said.
He said he was taking on a ‘‘superpower’’ that had ‘‘unlimited resources’’ and seemed on the point of tears as he added: ‘‘I can’t think properly.’’
Assange was dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London in April and jailed for breaching bail terms set when he was fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning on sexual assault allegations.
He spent almost seven years in the embassy.
His barrister, Mark Summers, QC, said the present case was politically motivated and driven by the Trump administration in Washington. ‘‘This is a political attempt to signal to journalists the consequences of publishing information,’’ he said.
At Westminster magistrates’ court Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused to grant Assange’s lawyers more time to gather evidence and fixed the next case management hearing for December 19. A full extradition hearing is due in February.
Assange was to have been released from the high-security Belmarsh prison in southeast London last month, but a judge kept him in custody because there were ‘‘substantial grounds’’ to believe he would abscond. In isolation on a medical wing, he has complained of mental and physical ailments and it is likely that his mental state will form part of his defence.
Assange’s campaign is preparing to fight extradition up to the European court of human rights and he could stay in British jails for another six years.