Assange’s ‘high risk’ of suicide in prison

JULIAN Assange is at ‘high risk’ of taking his own life and has confessed to a Catholic priest, a court heard yesterday.

He suffers from hallucinations such as ‘persecutory’ voices, said Professor Michael Kopelman, a psychiatrist at King’s College London.

Professor Kopelman, who has visited the WikiLeaks founder at Belmash prison 20 times, told the Old Bailey yesterday the voices he heard were ‘things like, “you are dust, you are dead, we are coming to get you”.’

He said the Australian has frequently called the Samaritans from prison and that he had ‘made various plans’ and preparations, such as attending confession and drawing up a will.

Assange, 49, is battling against extradition to the US, where he is wanted for publishing classified documents in 2010 and 2011. He faces up to 175 years in jail if convicted.

‘Hearing voices’