Stella Assange, the wife of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, said her husband is already suffering from many health problems and that "he will die" if he is extradited to the US by the UK government.
"If he gets extradited he will be put in a hell hole that is so deep that I fear I will not be able to see him again," she said at a media briefing in London on Thursday ahead of next week's hearing in which the Supreme Court will announce its final decision in a two-day hearing that starts on Feb. 20.
"There's no possibility to appeal," Assange's wife said, but also added that since all the legal routes would come to an end, their legal team "will definitely and immediately file an application with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
After years of legal battles in the UK, the US government has successfully convinced judicial authorities that the 52-year-old publisher must be tried in an American court.
He has been indicted on 17 espionage charges over the publication of half a million classified military documents regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He faces up to 175 years in prison for the charges filed by the US government.
WikiLeaks' current editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson also addressed the press, saying the case outcome will have "serious implications for press freedom for everyone around the world."
"We are seeing an anti-press pandemic right now and we see it spreading. The fight for Julian is fight for journalism."
Commenting on a possible application at the ECHR in case of a negative decision by the Supreme Court, Hrafnsson says they will have to act quickly, fearing the UK government may put Assange into an extradition plane immediately after the decision.
Assange's legal team confirms that their client has not yet been granted to appear in person as in the case with the previous hearing.
"I hope the court grants Julian to attend to his final hearing in this case," his wife said.
The last time Assange was allowed to appear in person and get out of prison was on Jan 6, 2021.
"He was sick in December he requested to see a doctor which was declined. He will die if he gets extradited," Stella Assange said.
Assange's lawyers say their arguments will be presented on the first day of the two-day hearing and if he wins the legal case, he will be granted a right for a "full appeal."
They say their client cannot be extradited and sent to a country that wants to kill him referring to a Yahoo News report, which claimed the CIA was plotting to kidnap or assassinate him back in 2017.
Although the US government has not officially commented on the allegations, the then-CIA chief and former US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo said all 30 former CIA officials who spoke to Yahoo News should be prosecuted.
