3 yıl önce

WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to marry long-term partner in prison

Assange and his fiancee will marry at Belmarsh prison in southeast London where he is on remand and fighting extradition attempts.

An expert in international law, Stella Moris was hired as part of Julian Assange’s legal team to help fight his case against extradition to Sweden.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his fiancee Stella Moris will be married at the high-security London prison where he is being held during his extradition case.

Assange and Moris announced their engagement in November and were given permission to marry at Belmarsh prison in southeast London where he is on remand.

The Don't Extradite Assange (DEA) group said the wedding would be conducted by a registrar, with just four guests, two witnesses and two security guards in attendance.

The guests will have to leave immediately after the ceremony.

Vivienne Westwood, the British fashion designer who has been a long-standing supporter of the Australian publisher, has designed Moris' wedding dress, the DEA group said.

She has also provided a kilt for Assange in a nod to his Scottish heritage, the group added.

Moris, who is in her late 30s and has two young sons with Assange, will cut a wedding cake and make a speech outside the prison in front of their supporters.

Figurehead for media freedom campaigners

Assange, 50, is fighting attempts to remove him from the UK to face trial in the United States over the publication of secret files relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last week, the UK Supreme Court turned down a request to hear his appeal against the move, bringing the long-running legal saga nearer to a conclusion.

Assange has become a figurehead for media freedom campaigners, who accused Washington of trying to muzzle reporting of legitimate security concerns.

If found guilty of violating the US Espionage Act by publishing military and diplomatic files, he could face the rest of his life in prison.

Assange has spent most of the past decade in custody or holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, trying to avoid another extradition after Sweden sought his transfer to answer claims of sexual assault. That case was later dropped.

After the Supreme Court blocked his application, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel will make a final decision on the case, unless Assange's lawyers launch another challenge on a separate point in the case.

SOURCE: AFP