Julian Assange's fiancee revealed that the WikiLeaks founder suffered a stroke while arguing his case in the High Court. In October, Assange's partner, Stella Moris, said on social media that Assange had suffered and that he needed to be released from prison. Moris did not comment on his recovery from the stroke.
Since 2019, Assange has been incarcerated in a maximum-security jail in London's Belmarsh prison. The mini-stroke, he believes, was sparked by the continuing US extradition battle.
In October, Assange appeared intermittently during hearings for more than five hours. Assange looks disheveled, his white hair cascading down over his shoulders.
A doctor who examined Assange confirmed nerve damage after observing a delayed pupil response in one eye when a light was shined into it.
On Friday, the High Court in London ruled that Julian Assange can be extradited from the UK to the United States, overriding a lower court judgment that the embattled WikiLeaks founder could not be extradited to face spying accusations in America owing to concerns about his mental health.
The 50-year-old Australian has been accused in the United States of violating the Espionage Act for his role in the 2010 and 2011 publications of hundreds of sensitive military and diplomatic papers. According to US prosecutors, confidential material leaks harm lives.
The charges are punishable by up to 175 years in jail.
According to the BBC, US lawyers suggested he could transfer to Australia to serve whatever prison sentence he would receive closer to home.
Assange was captured in April 2019 after British officials broke into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been holed up for seven years, and arrested him on a US extradition demand.