The "future" of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is very "uncertain," his wife and human rights activist Stella Assange told DW.
Julian Assange, who is in Belmarsh prison in Great Britain, has been charged in the United States for publishing classified documents about the US war in Afghanistan and Iraq, some of which exposed US war crimes. He faces a sentence of 175 years in prison.
On Thursday, Assange was nominated for the Zakharov Prize, which is awarded by the European Union for freedom of thought. The laureate will be announced on Wednesday (October 19).
"The nomination is incredibly important," Stella Assange said about it. "She helps us keep the case in the public eye."
Waiting for the final decision
Assange has been in prison for three years, after years of hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In March of this year, he married his longtime partner Stella there.
According to her, there are fears for Assange's health because he is in "24-hour lockdown, constantly locked in a cell." She added that Assange only sometimes goes out into the yard for fresh air.
In August, his legal team filed an appeal against the British decision to extradite Assange to the US.
"Political Case"
When asked if she hoped for political changes in Australia, of which Assange is a citizen, Stella Assange said she could not comment too much because "Julian's life is in the hands of politicians."
"This is a political case. It is the imprisonment of journalists at the expense of a foreign power. That case was initiated by the Trump administration, it is anathema to everything that the USA stands for," she added.
During the Trump administration, 17 counts of espionage were added to Assange's account.
Stella Assange was in Berlin on the occasion of a new documentary film about her husband, which was shown at a film festival dedicated to human rights.
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