May 31, 2019

UN investigator finds Assange suffers from "psychological torture"

Photo: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

A UN human rights investigator said Friday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has suffered psychological torture and should be free from extradition to the United States.

What's happening: After years of fleeing prosecution for leaking classified information through his site, Assange is currently serving time in British custody and facing potential extradition to the U.S. for espionage. He's also facing possible extradition to Sweden, where he would face an investigation into rape allegations.

UN Investigator Nils Melzer visited Assange in prison earlier this month and said that the series of campaigns and actions against Assange "can only be described as psychological torture."

"In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic States ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity..."

— Nils Melzer in a statement

Melzer was accompanied on his trip by 2 medical experts specializing in cases of torture and ill-treatment. According to the statement, the team found that Assange is exhibiting severe stress, chronic anxiety and psychological trauma.

What's next: Melzer urged the British government not to extradite Assange to the U.S. or any country that would not pledge to safeguard Assange from American extradition. He also reminded the United Kingdom of Assange's right to legal resources, which Melzer says have been limited.

Go deeper... Timeline: Julian Assange's 9-year legal limbo reaches its climax

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Storm Dennis continued to pummel parts of England, Wales and Ireland over Sunday night with heavy rain after battering Northern Ireland and Scotland, per the official British weather agency the Met Office.

Why it matters: It's the second-strongest nontropical storm ever recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean, with its hurricane-force winds and heavy rains that caused widespread flooding across the U.K., the Washington Post notes. Police in Wales confirmed Sunday they found the body of a man who fell into a river as the storm lashed Ystradgynlais.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders tore into 2020 rival Michael Bloomberg at a Las Vegas campaign event Saturday, saying the billionaire and former New York mayor is trying to "buy the presidency" by paying millions of dollars in advertising.

Why it matters: Bloomberg has surged in national polling recently, having poured millions of dollars into campaign ads largely targeting Trump. His candidacy has become an obvious foil for Sanders, whose grassroots campaign railing against billionaires and the establishment has vaulted him to front-runner status.

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The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 1,770 people and infected almost 70,000 others. Most cases and all but five of the deaths have occurred in mainland China. Taiwan confirmed its first death on Sunday, per multiple reports, in a 61-year-old man with underlying health conditions. Health officials were investigating how he became ill.

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