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Worth mentioning that Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, visited Assange and described his treatment as psychological torture: > “It was obviou
by k1m 7y ago
Worth mentioning that Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, visited Assange and described his treatment as psychological torture:
> “It was obvious that Mr. Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years,” the expert said. “Most importantly, in addition to physical ailments, Mr. Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.
> “The evidence is overwhelming and clear,” the expert said. “Mr. Assange has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24665 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?N...
This article by the UN expert is also well worth reading:
Demasking the Torture of Julian Assange - https://medium.com/@njmelzer/demasking-the-torture-of-julian-assange-b252ffdcb768 https://medium.com/@njmelzer/demasking-the-torture-of-julian...
- duxup 7y agoI find the idea of the threat of prosecution in a free country as a form of "torture" a bit questionable. It's something, but i'm not sure I agree with calling that torture.
- whatshisface 7y agoAssange has been under conditions a little worse than "threat of prosecution."
- maze-le 7y ago"free country"... oxymoron of the century by now...
- duxup 7y agoWhat would you define a "free country" as?
- AndrewBissell 7y agoAmong other things, one would certainly have to exclude any country which engages in the mass collection and permanent storage of all of its citizens' communications.
- duxup 7y agoWhat if the population was ok with that / didn't care?
- naniwaduni 7y agoThey would be wrong.
- duxup 7y agoThat's the risk of democracy. The alternatives have proven to involve a great deal less freedom.
- mhluongo 7y agoThe whole population? Freedom is freedom for minority rights and opinions to not be quashed by the majority. Thus the term "the tyranny of the majority" A majority can "not care" about systematic racial injustice and other inequities. The consent of the majority doesn't make the system "free".
- JoeSamoa 7y agoThen I'd ask those same people to hand over their credentials to all their accounts since their data, privacy, and property, seem to matter little to them.
- jgon 7y agoI guess China is a shining beacon of freedom for it's people too then.
- AndrewBissell 7y agoYou could post this exact same question about operating concentration camps.
- andy_ppp 7y agoWhat makes you think making up charges and constantly threatening to destroy you are not extremely stressful. He has a family too that he's been unable to see properly for a long while. Is his only current crime skipping bail on charges he believed were fake? Clearly, facing deportation to the US is problematic for a number of reasons, mostly that it's impossible for even Snowden to get a fair trial there, let alone an Australian citizen.
- duxup 7y ago"are not extremely stressful." That's not torture.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- div 7y ago> The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, visited Assange and described his treatment as psychological torture.
- duxup 7y agoI read the articles. As I noted I disagree. If he didn't divulge something(s) that also added to his assessment I can't account for that.
- colourgarden 7y agoDo you have a source to disprove or challenge the UN's definition of torture? Solitary confinement is often used during war. That Assange is incarcerated in a civilian prison doesn't necessarily diminish or change the effectiveness and impact.
- tripzilch 7y agoAn American dismissing a UN special rapport about torture. ... I really can't fathom why people would go through such extreme lengths to avoid getting extradited there ... /s
- henryaj 7y agoHe’s being held in a maximum-security prison in solitary confinement. That is torture.
- duxup 7y agoThe report / article seem to be about his time before that.
- 762236 7y agoHe is currently held in solitary confinement, with 1 hour outside his cell per day. That is torture.
- inetknght 7y agoI don't think so. I spend less than an hour outside each day and I don't find my life to be torturous.
- pyridines 7y agoBut you have a choice to spend less than an hour outside.
- colejohnson66 7y agoAre you spending the other 23 hours sleeping or standing? Because that’s what solitary confinement is. You get to do nothing but sleep, walk around, or use the toilet.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- MS90 7y agoDo you spend the other 23 hours in an 8x5 room with cement walls and nothing but a bed and a toilet?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- manifestsilence 7y ago23 hours involuntary solitary confinement is legit confirmed psychological torture. Self-inflicting that is either self-harm or else you are doing meaningful activities indoors and it's not the same thing at all.
- zaarn 7y agoAnd the years before he spent time in an embassy on his own free will, the solitary confinement is new.
- ekianjo 7y ago> prosecution in a free country The free country responsible for the Guantanamo secret prison? We are talking about the same one?
- duxup 7y agoWe're talking about the same country(s). I still consider the US, Sweeden, and the UK "free countries".
- ekianjo 7y agoWell I don't know about Sweden but the UK is falling into mass surveillance of its own population, and the US is already there and on top of that engages in wars without any form of Congress approval for a while now, and jails people for non-violent drug possession still. I guess Freedom is relative.
- _emacsomancer_ 7y agoAs long as "free" is firmly inside the quotation marks, sure.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- cortic 7y agoIt was the threat of being deported to a country that has the death penalty and routinely torchers people for years without trial; If you honestly can't imagine being stressed about that then you are just not trying.
- holstvoogd 7y agoIf only there was some sort of independent expert to assess the situation for us ;)
- jancsika 7y ago> I find the idea of the threat of prosecution in a free country as a form of "torture" a bit questionable. Yeah, it's funny how HN typically goes evidence-free where pet politics is concerned. I'll eat my hat if someone on here can name a single precedent of someone being tortured in the U.S. before being tried for a crime similar to what Assange would be accused of. Edit: and citations, please!
- specialist 7y agoWhy the qualifier? What measure of proof do you require? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_ignorance_fallacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_ignorance_fallacy
- mcv 7y agoExamples of people being tortured in the US are plenty. It all depends on what you mean by "similar to what Assange would be accused of". He was accused of rape, which is one of the few crimes that the US takes much more lightly than Sweden does.
- tripzilch 7y agoEspecially prison rape! The US takes it so lightly they even have a cute euphemism for it, "to pick up the soap", which allows you to lightly joke about sexual abuse punishment fantasies in polite company!
- mcv 7y agoI've even seen joking references to prison rape in children's shows, which really makes me wonder what's wrong with people.
- dnautics 7y agoEugene Debs
- chmod775 7y ago> similar to what assange would be accused of That's oddly specific, but still be careful what you're asking for. "Police torture suspect" gives a lot of results, for example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge There's a good chance some of those 200 cases were rape cases. Then there is also the torture of terrorism suspects, if you wish to take that angle since Assange has repeatedly been labeled a terrorist. Here's two more Wikipedia articles that may be interesting to you: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_and_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_and_the_United_State... Especially interesting may be the "Domestic Torture in Modern Times" section if you wish to focus on what happened domestically. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_interrogation_techniques https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_interrogation_techn... Always worth a read.
- undecisive 7y agoIt occurs to me that "land of the free" can be taken two possible ways: - "the field of the sheep" - the field only contains sheep - "the wool of the sheep" - the wool only belongs to the sheep, not the cows, pigs, goats etc. In the same way, America belongs to some very free people, and the rest are conned into touting that from under whatever thumb they happen to be.
- dwoozle 7y agoWhat is a “free country” in your definition?
- dingoegret 7y agoThat's just your world view and western conditioning. I don't know what you mean by "free country" or what that has to do with state actors persecuting another political actor. Help me understand. I don't have the conditioning to read past the slogans and just understand why certain nations are pure.
- coldtea 7y agoThe "free country" that has the highest incarceration rate, and one of the worst prison systems in the western world?
- praptak 7y agoWhich free country?
- tripzilch 7y agoActually it's just 98% free. The rest is in jail or prison. As far as "free countries" go, it's really the worst to end up. Did you seriously forget all the UN reports about human rights issues in the US? Yeah the US ignores them, but the rest of the world knows it. It's really pretty bad.
- buboard 7y ago7 years confined in a room, no matter how nice the embassy, common sense says it is obviously psychological torture.
- friendlybus 7y agoBeing confined to a room is not so bad, being confined to a room where you know if you leave or piss off the host of your room enough, that the most powerful government on the planet has a secret indictment sealed ready to go the second you make a mistake and senators have called for your head off publicly, is a little more stressful.
- goerz 7y ago> Mr. Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years Let me correct that: Mr Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the environment that he exposed himself to (Edit: I’m talking about the embassy episode here, not his more recent incarceration)
- freejulian85 7y ago> Mr Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the environment that he exposed himself to Fuck you.
- dependenttypes 7y agoPlease don't do that.
- freejulian85 7y agoHe doesn’t deserve a better response. People who don’t support Assange can get fucked.
- rezmason 7y agoThere are now active concentration camps in the United States, designed to traumatize children, because Wikileaks bolstered Trump's campaign to make HRC appear destined for prison. And people who can't hold him accountable for his role in that, "can get fucked".
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- zozbot234 7y agoFake news. The ICE camps were put in place during the Obama presidency, with HRC playing key roles in the overall Obama administration.
- jpz 7y agoHe confined himself to a room. He skipped bail and was on the lam. Ridiculous for the UN to qualify this as the UK state torturing him - it denigrates the reputation of the UN.
- samstave 7y agosure. So you think you could withstand what he has gone through? the reputation of the UN??? go learn about the un before you defend a corrupt system that acts just like any other foundation. United Nations pays its employees an average of $82,397 a year. and every peacekeeper is paid $1,428/month. THE UN: "Charity sex scandal: UN staff ‘responsible for 60,000 rapes in a decade’ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/un-staff-responsible-for-60-000-rapes-in-a-decade-c627rx239 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/un-staff-responsible-for-... And thats just ONE of their thousands of scandals. --- https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/16/world/un-details-its-failure-to-stop-95-bosnia-massacre.html https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/16/world/un-details-its-fail... https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/12/car-up-to-100-civilians-shot-and-burnt-alive-as-un-peacekeepers-leave-posts-in-alindao/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/12/car-up-to-100... http://theconversation.com/when-un-peacekeepers-commit-atrocities-someone-has-to-act-34317 http://theconversation.com/when-un-peacekeepers-commit-atroc... "Peacekeepers have been accused of sexually exploiting women in the Congo, being involved in sex trafficking in Bosnia and Kosovo, child abuse in Côte d'Ivoire and Haiti, as well as corruption, stealing, drink-driving and manslaughter. https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/africa/item/16746-un-peacekeeping-troops-face-scandals-on-sex-crimes-corruption https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/africa/item/16746-...
- shadowgovt 7y agoI would believe he's exhibiting symptoms correlated with torture victims, but most torture victims don't choose to stay in the torture chamber voluntarily. Assange sought and was granted asylum and could have ended the torturous circumstances at any time by rendering himself to UK custody.
- asdernr 7y agoYah. Then get send over to US and A and killed. Checkmate
- shadowgovt 7y agoThe saddest thing about Assange's story is that when one lives in the realm of the paranoid for too long, the paranoia eats them. The US and A isn't in the business of assassinating visible targets. There's plenty of people who believe they are, but there's plenty of evidence they aren't. If they were, Manning wouldn't still be breathing.
- dingoegret 7y agoIt is in the business of assassinating visible targets. By probability and behavioral record. Unless you have special evidence to contrary.
- shadowgovt 7y agoAs I said, Manning is still alive, and she's spent an inordinate amount of time under US custody. She's under US custody right now. If the government had "assassination of visible targets" as standard black-ops policy, why is she not dead? Conspiracy theories suffer on lack of consistency.
- cwkoss 7y agoIt is plausible that if US govt was't able to contrive her current imprisonment via contempt of court charges, she would be dead. Kind of amusing that a user named "shadowgovt" is vehemently arguing that the government is less malicious than many members of the public suspect.
- burtonator 7y ago> typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma. Due to recent imprisonment or is this due to living for so long in a tiny "dorm room" in the Ecuadorian embassy? No joke I think that could easily drive someone insane given enough time.
- ckastner 7y agoYou quote: > “Mr. Assange has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture.“ That quote lacked information on who was exposing him and what that exposure actually was, so I followed your source. That source elaborates as follows: > “In the course of the past nine years, Mr. Assange has been exposed to persistent, progressively severe abuse ranging from systematic judicial persecution and arbitrary confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy, to his oppressive isolation, harassment and surveillance inside the embassy, and from deliberate collective ridicule, insults and humiliation, to open instigation of violence and even repeated calls for his assassination.” Apart from the last item, that all sounds either like hyberbole ("systematic judicial persecution" -- unless he is above the justice system, that's the system at work), or self-inflicted.
- counterpig 7y agoThe charges from Sweden have been dropped and bought several times depending on their usefulness to the Americans it is not a case of the system working as intended. It is a foreign power putting diplomatic pressure on the Swedish government to put pressure on a man who has embarrassed them.
- papito 7y agoAnd in this case, William Barr really doesn't want Assange here, in order to protect his client, Donald J. Trump. And that's why we will not see the extradition to the United States while the Justice Department has been essentially neutered by, what would you call it? Deep State?
- wwweston 7y agoThe current administration, given its stated opposition to a deep state, is perhaps best characterized as The Shallow State.
- vintermann 7y ago
- t0ddbonzalez 7y agoNope, sorry. He could have left the embassy any time he wanted. Any 'torture' is purely self-inflicted.
- dingoegret 7y agoHe couldn't have left whenever he wanted.
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