Julian Assange's Health in 'Dangerous' Condition, Say Doctors

The Guardian reports:

Julian Assange’s long stay in the Ecuadorian embassy in London is having a “dangerous” impact on his physical and mental health, according to clinicians who carried out the most recent assessments of him.

The pair renewed calls for the WikiLeaks publisher to be granted safe passage to a London hospital.

Sondra Crosby, a doctor and associate professor at the Boston University’s school of medicine and public health, and Brock Chisholm, a London-based consultant clinical psychologist, examined Assange for 20 hours over three days in October.

In an article for the Guardian, they wrote: “While the results of the evaluation are protected by doctor-patient confidentiality, it is our professional opinion that his continued confinement is dangerous physically and mentally to him and a clear infringement of his human right to healthcare.”

Although the two did not go into details, Assange’s health appears to be deteriorating significantly after more than five years holed up in the embassy...

The article was co-written by Crosby, Chisholm and Sean Love, a doctor in training at a Boston hospital. Love, on a trip to London last May, visited Assange. Afterwards, he proposed a medical evaluation be carried out...

"[O]ur assessment reveals that he has had no access to sunlight, appropriate ventilation or outside space for over five and a half years. This has taken a considerable physical as well as psychological toll.”

They urged the British Medical Association and colleagues in the UK to demand safe access to medical care for Assange...

The Ecuadorian embassy, which has granted citizenship to Assange, is in negotiations with the UK government in an attempt to end the stand-off.

The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, said last year that arresting Assange was a priority for the US. The FBI is investigating WikiLeaks.