Vigil for the health of Julian Assange to take place in London
The vigil coincides with the sixth anniversary of the WikiLeaks founder's self-imposed exile in London's Ecuadorian Embassy.
Assange's immediate health concerns remain a mystery.
A vigil will take place Tuesday evening outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for the health of its longstanding resident Julian Assange.
The vigil will be held between 6 and 8 p.m. local time and will be attended by Susan Manning, mother of Chelsea Manning, along with Peter Tatchell, Vivienne Westwood and Lauri Love.
Tuesday marks six years since WikiLeaks founder Assange first entered the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault charges. The charges have since been dropped, but Assange is still wanted in the UK for skipping bail in 2012. He is concerned that if he leaves the embassy the US may also seek to extradite him on espionage charges.
An international group of lawyers appealed to the UN's Human Rights Council this week regarding concerns that Assange's protracted confinement is having a severe impact on his physical and mental health.
"The UK shows a deliberate disregard for his medical needs by forcing him to choose between his human right to asylum and his human right to medical treatment," said human rights barrister Jennifer Robinson in a statement. "No-one should ever have to make this choice."
Robinson and another representative for Assange didn't immediately respond to a request for further details of his precise health concerns and their urgency.
The UK maintains that Assange's exile is self imposed and in February a judge upheld a warrant for his arrest. Ecuador also isn't thrilled at the prospect of him remaining in the embassy long term. Julian Assange's situation is "not sustainable", said the country's foreign minister in January.
