Dramatic appeal for help

Assange’s wife asks for donations after imprisonment

Stella and Julian Assange in a rare couple's photo

(Bild: twitter.com/StellaMoris1)

After WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was unexpectedly released from a high-security prison near London, his biggest supporter is visibly relieved: his wife Stella Assange had to wait years before she could soon embrace her husband in freedom. Now she is asking for donations - the 52-year-old whistleblower's health is said to be in poor condition.

 "We intend to set up an emergency fund for Julian's health and recovery," Stella Assange explained in a video post published on Tuesday night. "I ask you, if you can, to contribute and help us transition Julian into this new phase of freedom."

Stella Assange's call for help:

Stella Assange fiercely critical of detention conditions
The wife has been warning for some time that Assange is not doing well. "His physical condition is getting worse every day, because that's what happens when you lock a person up for up to 20 hours a day, restrict visits and treat their well-being in a cruel way," she told journalists last year outside Belmarsh prison, where he was being held. 

The high-security Belmarsh prison near London

(Bild: AFP)

The whistleblower was held in Belmarsh for five years - without conviction. Before that, the Australian had spent seven years living in isolation in the embassy in Ecuador in London. Even then, his mental and physical health had deteriorated - this was clearly demonstrated by the embassy's accusation that Assange had smeared walls with his faeces, among other things. The South American country then agreed to the arrest of the WikiLeaks founder.

Julian Assange after his release from prison

(Bild: AFP)

Assange's brother: "Unbelievable suffering" in custody 
He was then threatened with extradition to the USA. During a hearing in February, Stella Assange explained that "this could very well be the last hearing for Julian". Her husband was in a "very difficult situation" physically and mentally as a result of the stress caused by the case. He would not survive extradition to a US prison, she explained at the time. Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton also emphasized that the prisoner had suffered "incredible suffering" in prison and that his health had "deteriorated". 

Last stopover in court on the way home
Assange is now on his way to the Pacific island of Saipan - where he is due to plead guilty to a charge on Wednesday in order to be released. Saipan is relatively close to Assange's home country of Australia and is part of US territory. According to the US Attorney's Office, Assange has pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining and disclosing classified US defense documents. He will be sentenced to a prison term of just over five years, which he has already served.

Assange's children still know nothing
Julian Assange's children do not yet know that their father will be released. Stella Assange said in a BBC interview: "I just told them that there was a huge surprise." On the way to the airport in London, she only told her sons Max and Gabriel that the family was flying to Australia to meet their grandparents. The boys, aged five and seven, had never seen their father outside his high-security London prison. 

"All of their interactions with Julian have taken place in a visiting room in Belmarsh prison," Stella Assange said. "It was only ever for just over an hour. It was very restrictive."