London — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has examined constructive for COVID-19, his spouse mentioned on Monday, as she battles his extradition to the US.
"Julian was feeling unwell final week however began feeling sick on Friday," Stella Assange was quoted as saying by the Press Affiliation information company. "He began coughing and had a fever. He was given some paracetamol. He examined constructive for COVID on Saturday."
Hundreds of individuals fashioned a human chain across the U.Ok. parliament in London on Saturday to demand Assange's launch from London's Belmarsh jail.
The Australian nationwide, now 51, has been held on the high-security jail since 2019, after serving time for skipping bail in a earlier case.
Because the pandemic took maintain in early 2020, he unsuccessfully utilized to be launched on bail due to the chance of contracting COVID in jail. His attorneys mentioned on the time he had a historical past of sickness, together with respiratory infections.
Stella Assange, who married Assange at Belmarsh in March and is the mom of their two younger sons, mentioned she was involved for his well being.
"The following few days will probably be essential for his basic well being. He's now locked in his cell for twenty-four hours a day," she added.
Assange skipped bail in 2010 over Swedish makes an attempt to extradite him in reference to a sexual assault case and took refuge within the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
The case was dropped in 2019 and he misplaced his asylum standing after a change of presidency in Quito, resulting in his arrest and incarceration.
In August, Assange's attorneys launched authorized motion in opposition to the CIA for allegedly eavesdropping on non-public conversations with him on the mission.
He's interesting in opposition to U.Ok. approval of his extradition to face trial for divulging U.S. navy secrets and techniques concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.