Yes, but in this case, we're talking about Great Britain which, on one level,
thinks it is a separate and special country and should be separate from the
European Union, while on the other hand, in the case of Julian Assenge, acts
like a vassal of the US.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, November 24, 2019 11:42 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Doctors Petition UK Home Secretary Over Julian
Assange
There should be no surprises in the methods used by any Ruling Class in its
efforts to maintain control. Of course the British abuse their powers, they
built their Empire on the pattern laid out by the Roman Empire. And our
beloved American Empire has all the elements that worked for the Empires that
went before it.
The lesson is only half learned. What rising Empires fail to consider is the
elements that contribute to their downfall. It seems to me that the seeds of
failure are built in at the point when the new Empire is on the rise. Every
Ruling Class decides at some point that they are above all others, that they
are successful because they are the Truth, that they are wiser than the
riffraff. Every Empire in written history has come to the place where it feels
it is above the common law, even though the law was used by the rising Empire.
The Empire becomes so self indulging that it actually believes that it is the
Law.
So why do we have so hard a time accepting the strutting and posturing of our
current King Henry the Eighth, Donald Trump?
Like Donald Trump, Henry decided he was above the law. He even created his own
Church to replace the Law of the Roman Catholic and its Pope.
But I digress.
What we, the common folk, the working class fail to grasp is that the problem
is built into the System. Once we select a new bunch of leaders and hand
control over to them, we are headed for oppression.
The answer is one we keep avoiding. The answer is that we, all of the people,
maintain control. But to reach such a point calls for a total change in our
collective thought process. It calls for the restructuring of our Values, a
realignment of our Social structure, a replacement of the activities we value
today with new values.
But in the meantime, and in between time, we must begin teaching whoever we
can...beginning with Us!
As Pogo said to Albert, "We have met the enemy, and they are us!"
Carl Jarvis
On 11/23/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Doctors Petition UK Home Secretary Over Julian Assange
November 23, 2019
Doctors from around the world have written an open letter to the UK
home secretary about the plight of the WikiLeaks' publisher in
London's Belmarsh prison.
Open Letter to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Shadow Home
Secretary Diane Abbott
We write this open letter, as medical doctors, to express our serious
concerns about the physical and mental health of Julian Assange. Our
professional concerns follow publication recently of the harrowing
eyewitness accounts of Craig Murray and John Pilger of the case
management hearing on Monday 21 October 2019 at Westminster
Magistrates Court. The hearing related to the upcoming February 2020
hearing of the request by the US government for Mr Assange's
extradition to the US in relation to his work as a publisher of
information, including information about alleged crimes of the US
government.
Our concerns were further heightened by the publication on 1 November
2019 of a further report of Nils Melzer, the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, in which he stated: 'Unless the UK urgently changes
course and alleviates his inhumane situation, Mr Assange's continued
exposure to arbitrariness and abuse may soon end up costing his life.'
Having entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on 19 June 2012, Mr
Assange sought and was granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian
government. On 11 April 2019, he was removed from the Embassy and
arrested by the Metropolitan Police. He was subsequently detained in
Belmarsh maximum security prison, in what Mr Melzer described as
'oppressive conditions of isolation and surveillance.'
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. No such access was permitted.
Mr Assange was unable to exercise his right to free and necessary
expert medical assessment and treatment throughout the seven-year
period.
Julian Assange
A chronology, based on information available to the public, of
relevant visits, events and reports from a medical perspective follows:
.On 31 July 2015, a dentist reported that Mr Assange's 'upper right
first premolar (UR4) tooth had fractured along with the filling that
was in it and the dental pulp of the tooth was exposed' and 'that
failure to treat this promptly would lead to infection of the root
leading to a dental abscess and pain.' The dentist advised 'saving
this tooth would require root canal treatment', however, 'due to the
specialised equipment and radiographic requirements this treatment
could not be completed in the domiciliary setting.' 'Extraction of the
tooth' was identified as 'another option but [.] it may need a
surgical extraction.' This was 'not recommended in a domiciliary
setting especially as we would need preoperative radiographs to assess
the root shape and the proximity of the root to the floor of the
maxillary sinus. Extractions in this area carry a risk of creating a
communication between the mouth and the sinus which could need
surgical closure hence radiographs would be essential to assess this
risk.' The dentist 'advised Mr Assange he should seek treatment in a
clinical setting to prevent further progression of his symptoms as
soon as possible.'1
.On 4 December 2015, an opinion of the United Nations Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) was formally adopted and it was published
on 5 February 2016. It concluded that Mr Assange was being arbitrarily
detained by the governments of the UK and Sweden. Crucially, it was
made clear at the time that any continued arbitrary detention of Mr
Assange would constitute torture. The group concluded that 'the
Embassy of Ecuador in London is far less than a house or detention
centre equipped for prolonged pretrial detention and lacks appropriate
and necessary medical equipment or facilities - it is valid to assume,
after five years of deprivation of liberty, that Mr Assange's health
could have deteriorated to such a level that anything more than a
superficial illness would put his health at a serious risk, and he was
denied access to a medical institution for a proper diagnosis,
including a magnetic resonance imaging test.'2
.On 8 December 2015, a doctor who saw Mr Assange reported:
'progressive inflammation and stiffness affecting his right shoulder.
This requires an MRI scan to determine the exact diagnosis in order to
inform a suitably qualified physiotherapist as to how best to treat
him in an appropriately equipped medical facility. His current
circumstances significantly compromise the ability to satisfactorily
investigate and treat him.'3 Mr Assange was refused access to a
hospital by the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office.4
.On 11 December 2015, a further doctor, a trauma and psychosocial
expert,
reported: 'Mr Assange scored 15 out of 20 on the Patient Health
Questionnaire [.] a multipurpose instrument for screening, diagnosing,
monitoring and measuring the severity of depression. [.] A score of 15
indicates that Mr Assange suffers from Major Depression (moderately
severe)'; 'At a minimum, it is recommended that his urgent medical
complaints regarding the pain in his shoulder be investigated with
appropriate equipment'; 'The Embassy is not a medical setting. The
only way Mr Assange can access either urgent medical care or
investigations would be to place himself in the hands of the British
authorities. Mr Assange is in an invidious position of having to
decide between his physical health and the risk of being extradited to
the United States. His inability to access proper medical care and
assessment - without placing himself into the hands of the authorities
- transforms each physical complaint no matter how simple into
something that could have catastrophic consequences either for his
health or his liberty. He lives in a state of chronic health
insecurity'; and 'The unusual circumstances place Mr Assange in a precarious
situation.
The effects of the situation on Mr Assange's health and well-being are
serious and the risks will most certainly escalate with the potential
to becoming life threatening if current conditions persist.'5
Home Secretary Priti Patel
.In October 2017, Doctors Sondra S. Crosby, Brock Chisholm and Sean
Love visited Mr Assange.6 The group examined him for 20 hours over
Three days.7 In an article for the Guardian published on 24 January
2018 they wrote: 'We examined Julian Assange, and he badly needs care
- but he can't get it'; 'We call on the British Medical Association
and colleagues in the UK to demand safe access to medical care for Mr
Assange and to oppose openly the ongoing violations of his human right
to healthcare.'8
.On 19 June 2018, Dinah PoKempner, General Counsel at Human Rights
Watch,
stated: 'Concern is growing over his access to medical care. His
asylum is growing more and more difficult to distinguish from
detention. The UK has the power to resolve concerns over his
isolation, health, and confinement by removing the threat of
extradition for publishing newsworthy leaks.'9
.On 22 June 2018, Dr Sean Love, who over the course of the previous
year had visited Mr Assange several times at the Ecuadorian embassy,
reiterated his concerns regarding Mr Assange's health and repeated his
call in the British Medical Journal for him to be given access to
healthcare.10 Dr Love wrote that 'Assange's detention continues to
cause a precipitous deterioration in his overall condition' and that
'Because of his health issues, in 2015, Ecuadorian authorities
requested that he be permitted humanitarian safe passage to a hospital
in London; however, this was denied by the UK.' Dr Love stated that
'To this day, Assange remains unable to access hospital based
diagnostic testing and treatment-even for a medical emergency. In
effect, he has gone without proper access to care for the duration of
his six years in confinement.'
.On 21 December 2018, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention (UNWGAD) issued a further statement opposing the continued
unlawful detention of Mr Assange: 'States that are based upon and
promote the rule of law do not like to be confronted with their own
violations of the law, that is understandable. But when they honestly
admit these violations, they do honour the very spirit of the rule of
law, earn enhanced respect for doing so, and set worldwide commendable
examples.' It added:
'The WGAD is further concerned that the modalities of the continued
arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr Assange is undermining his
health, and may possibly endanger his life given the disproportionate
amount of anxiety and stress that such prolonged deprivation of
liberty entails.'11
.On 5 April 2019, Nils Melzer, the United Nations Special Rapporteur
on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, issued a statement following reports that Mr Assange may
soon be expelled from the Ecuadorian Embassy. He said, 'According to
information I have received, Mr Assange is at risk of extreme
vulnerability, and his health is in serious decline. I therefore
appeal to the Ecuadorian authorities to continue to provide him, to
the fullest extent possible in the circumstances, with adequate living
conditions and access to appropriate medical care.'12 On 11 April
2019, Mr Assange was expelled from the Embassy and arrested by the
Metropolitan Police.
.On 1 May 2019, Mr Assange was described as suffering from 'moderate
to severe depression' at a hearing at Southwark Crown Court at which
he was sentenced to 50 weeks imprisonment for a bail infringement
dating back to
2012.13
.On 3 May 2019, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a
statement noting it was 'deeply concerned' over Assange's 50 weeks
imprisonment. 'The Working Group regrets that the Government has not
complied with its Opinion and has now furthered the arbitrary
deprivation of liberty of Mr Assange.14
.On 9 May 2019, Mr Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, visited
Belmarsh prison accompanied by two medical experts, with special
expertise in assessing victims of torture. This involved a 60-minute
conversation with Mr Assange, an hour-long physical examination and a
two-hour psychiatric examination.
.On 23 May 2019, the US government brought charges under the Espionage
Act of 1917 against Mr Assange for his publishing activities on behalf
of WikiLeaks. On 29 May 2019, Mr Assange was moved to the 'hospital
wing' at Belmarsh prison following a reported significant
deterioration in his health. On 30 May 2019, Mr Assange was too unwell
to appear in court, even via video link, for a preliminary extradition
hearing.15 It should be noted that the medical facilities and staffing at
Belmarsh prison 'hospital wing'
have never been divulged to the public.
.On 31 May 2019, Mr Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture,
reported on his 9 May 2019 visit to Mr Assange, 'we all came to the
conclusion that he showed all the symptoms that are typical for a
person that has been exposed to psychological torture over an extended
period of time.'16
.On 22 October 2019, Craig Murray, a former British Ambassador,
published a detailed and shocking eye witness account of Mr Assange's
hearing the previous day, stating that he 'exhibited exactly the
symptoms of a torture
victim.'17 His report was corroborated by the eyewitness account of
John Pilger, the renowned investigative journalist and filmmaker.18
.On 1 November 2019, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer
reiterated his alarm at the continued deterioration of Julian
Assange's health since his arrest and detention earlier this year,
saying his life was now at risk.
Mr Melzer said, 'What we have seen from the UK Government is outright
contempt for Mr Assange's rights and integrity,' and 'Despite the
medical urgency of my appeal, and the seriousness of the alleged
violations, the UK has not undertaken any measures of investigation,
prevention and redress required under international law.' Mr Melzer
concluded: 'Unless the UK urgently changes course and alleviates his
inhumane situation, Mr Assange's continued exposure to arbitrariness
and abuse may soon end up costing his
life.'19
Nils Melzer (UN Photo)
Medical doctors have a professional duty to report suspected torture
of which they become aware, wherever it may be occurring. That
professional duty is absolute and must be carried out regardless of
risk to reporting doctors. We wish to put on record, as medical
doctors, our collective serious concerns and to draw the attention of
the public and the world to this grave situation.
The World Health Organisation Constitution of 1946 envisages 'the
highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every
human
being.'20 We are indebted to those who have sought to uphold this
right in the case of Mr Assange.
From a medical point of view, on the evidence currently available, we
have serious concerns about Mr Assange's fitness to stand trial in
February 2020.
Most importantly, it is our opinion that Mr Assange requires urgent
expert medical assessment of both his physical and psychological state of
health.
Any medical treatment indicated should be administered in a properly
equipped and expertly staffed university teaching hospital (tertiary care).
Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, 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.
APPENDIX