The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated it’s concerns on the “disproportionate” sentencing of Julian Assange on Friday, according to an article by Reuters.
Assange is being held in the high-security Belmarsh prison “as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence”, the U.N. working group on arbitrary detention said in a statement, adding that this “appears to contravene principles of necessity and proportionality”. It described the skipping bail charge as a relatively “minor violation”.
In 2015, the same group of 5 experts stated they found Assange to be arbitrarily detained and called for the release of Julian immediately.
The statement from the UN group found here is as follows:
“It is worth recalling that the detention and the subsequent bail of Mr Assange in the UK were connected to preliminary investigations initiated in 2010 by a prosecutor in Sweden.
“It is equally worth noting that that prosecutor did not press any charges against Mr Assange and that, in 2017, after interviewing him in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, she discontinued investigations and brought an end to the case.
“The Working Group is further concerned that Mr Assange has been detained since 11 April 2019 in Belmarsh Prison, a high-security prison, as if he were convicted for a serious criminal offence.
“This treatment appears to contravene the principles of necessity and proportionality envisaged by the human rights standards.”
Sadly, the U.K. and the U.S. will not comply with the U.N. in this atrocious case of human rights violations. Both countries claim to have a high standard regarding human rights and freedom of the press, yet both treat them with disrespect on a regular basis. We need to hold them accountable for their failure to comply with international laws especially in this case as they are numerous.
Angel Fox Media 