Assange Requests Leave From Prison to Attend Funeral of Style Icon, Supporter Vivienne Westwood
© AP Photo / Alastair Grant
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The wife of one of the world’s most famous political prisoners says his legal team is asking that he be allowed a brief leave from HM Prison Belmarsh – but authorities say they’re unlikely to grant it.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is requesting a leave from prison to attend the funeral of pioneering British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, according to the wife of the jailed publisher.
Dame Vivienne had been in contact with Assange for over a decade and remained a stalwart supporter until the end.
Dame Vivienne had been in contact with Assange for over a decade and remained a stalwart supporter until the end.
In comments published on Twitter by his wife Stella, Assange wrote that “Vivienne was a Dame and a pillar of the anti-establishment.”
“Bold, creative, thoughtful and a good friend,” Assange wrote that the deceased style icon represented “the best of Britain.”
“She will be missed terribly by me and many others.”
Julian Assange: “Vivienne was a Dame and a pillar of the anti-establishment. Bold, creative, thoughtful and a good friend. The best of Britain. She will be missed terribly by me and many others.” pic.twitter.com/a8ePakyiIN
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) December 31, 2022
One of her most notable actions saw the aging designer suspend herself in a cage outside the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in 2020 in a public show of support for the imprisoned journalist.
Assange’s wife has stated that a request for Julian to attend the funeral had been submitted to his solicitor, reportedly explaining she “knows that Julian would want to honor” the high-profile advocate.
Дизайнер Вивьен Вествуд в гигантской клетке на протестном митинге против экстрадиции основателя WikiLeaks Джулиана Ассанжа у здания суда Олд-Бейли в Лондоне, Великобритания
© AP Photo / Matt Dunham
But according to a leading British state-affiliated outlet, while it’s “up to prison governors to decide on a case-by-case basis” whether such a leave of absence will be allowed, “prison service spokesman Alan Shelby [said] it was unlikely such a request would be granted as this kind of leave was only meant for close relatives.”
Assange has been detained in the UK’s notorious Belmarsh prison since 2019 at the insistence of the US government, which accuses him of violating the Espionage Act. Prosecutors insist Assange violated the draconian measure – imposed by the US legislature over a century ago in an effort to criminalize anti-war activists – when he published leaked evidence of horrifying crimes committed by US soldiers.
The attempted extradition of a foreign national to face charges of violating US law has been widely condemned as an overt case of political persecution by groups including Assange’s supporters, press freedom advocates, and even a number of mainstream Western media outlets.
