Julian Assange says he 'hears voices' in prison

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange complained of hearing imaginary voices and music while detained in a high-security British prison, a psychiatrist who assessed him told his extradition hearing on Tuesday.

Dr Michael Kopelman, who has interviewed Assange about 20 times, said the former hacker would be a “very high” suicide risk if he were extradited to the United States for leaking military secrets.

He cited as evidence Mr Assange’s “severe depression” and “psychotic symptoms”, which included auditory hallucinations while in solitary confinement in his cell at the high-security Belmarsh Prison in south-west London.

Dr Kopelman told the Old Bailey court in central London that Assange said he hallucinated music and voices that said: “You are dust, you are dead, we are coming to get you.”

Assange’s suicidal impulses “arise out of clinical factors ... but it is the imminence of extradition that will trigger the attempt,” the psychiatrist said.

“He will deteriorate substantially,” if extradited, Dr Kopelman said.

Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, has previously said she feared he would take his own life, leaving their two young sons without a father.

Protesters outside the Old Bailey on Monday. AP

James Lewis, representing the US government, quizzed Dr Kopelman over the veracity of some of Assange’s claims, suggesting he may have made them up.

Assange faces 18 charges under the US Espionage Act relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Julian Assange at risk of catching coronavirus if extradited to US, lawyer claims

Julian Assange could face 175-year sentence if extradited to US, lawyer says

Washington claims he helped intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal the documents before exposing the identities of confidential sources around the world.

If convicted, Assange – who has been held at Belmarsh for the past 16 months – could be jailed for up to 175 years.

US authorities recently laid out new evidence.

The extradition hearing is the latest in a series of legal battles faced by Assange since the leaks a decade ago.

In 2010, he was charged with sexual assault and rape in Sweden, which he denied.

He was in Britain at the time but dodged an attempt to extradite him to Sweden by claiming political asylum in Ecuador’s embassy in London.

For seven years he lived in a small apartment inside the embassy, but after a change of government in Ecuador, Quito lost patience with its guest and turned him over to British police in April 2019.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

LAST-16 FIXTURES

Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Game is on BeIN Sports

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Batti Gul Meter Chalu

Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5

MORE FROM ED HUSAIN: The UAE-Israel accord is a win for every Muslim

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While you're here

Ed Husain: The far left is trying to hijack Muslim minds in the West

Sulaiman Hakemy: Why it is very important to lose elections

Rashmee Roshan Lall: US race relations in three words

Kareem Shaheen on Canada

A second lockdown will be especially tough in cold countries

Hard-hit Canada is springing back to the cliched 'new normal'

Justin Trudeau 2.0 will need to take all of Canada with him

The details

Heard It in a Past Life

Maggie Rogers

(Capital Records)

3/5

2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL

Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

if you go

The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.

The trip

Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.