More than 60 doctors sign letter warning Assange ‘could die in prison’ without medical attention

More than 60 doctors from several countries have signed onto an open letter warning British authorities that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “could die in prison” unless he receives urgent medical treatment.

The letter, addressed to U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, was distributed by WikiLeaks on Monday. It states that the doctors have “serious concerns” about Assange’s mental and physical problems, including depression, dental issues and a shoulder ailment.

{mosads}Assange, the doctors argued, required immediate attention at a staffed university teaching hospital, otherwise “we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr. Assange could die in prison. The medical situation is thereby urgent. There is no time to lose.”

Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in a London prison for skipping bail in 2012. He then hid out in the Ecuadorian Embassy for years until his April eviction. He is currently facing extradition to the U.S. for espionage charges.  

“During the seven years spent in the Embassy in confined living conditions, Mr Assange was visited and examined by a number of experts each of whom expressed alarm at the state of his health and requested that he be allowed access to a hospital,” the letter states. “No such access was permitted.”

The letter noted that Assange was moved to the hospital wing at the Belmarsh prison following a “reported significant deterioration in his health” that made him too unwell to appear in court in May.

The Hill has reached out to the U.K.’s Home Office for comment.

Assange scored a legal victory last week when Sweden discontinued an investigation into alleged rape charges against him.