Julian Assange’s Mother Speaks: ‘I Am Feeling both Angry And Sad That My Son Has Now Been Detained Six Years Without Charge’

Julian Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, has long been an unsung hero when it comes to defending her son, the founder of the WikiLeaks organization. Christine recently spoke with SBS News in Australia and said that despite all of the ordeals that Julian has undergone, he would “fight to the last breath.”

On Wednesday, Julian Assange released a statement where he denied the claim that he had sexual intercourse with a sleeping woman without wearing a condom. Assange stated that the woman in question was awake and that the sex they had was consensual. After Julian’s statement was released to the public, the spokeswoman for the prosecutor in Sweden, Ann Oberg, said that she was unable to comment as the prosecutors are currently awaiting the transcript of his interview.

Before the transcript was released, Julian’s mother, Christine Assange, once again appealed to the government of Australia to intervene in order to arrange Assange’s release. She is currently trying to obtain the help of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop so that her son can finally be safely freed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Christine Assange has also turned to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for help. Turnbull is the man that Steve Kilbey, frontman for Australian rock band The Church, famously called the “Muhammad Ali of high school debating” in a commentary piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Julian Assange’s mother explained that her son has become the target for those who wish for their crimes to remain secret and insists that the Australian government, and especially Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop, should stand up for one of their bravest citizens.

“He is being politically persecuted for bravely publishing about corruption, torture and war crimes. It’s time the Australian Government stands up for one of its citizens’ legal rights to proper legal process. As an Australian citizen, I find the silence from both parties indicates a complete lack of sovereignty. They’re not willing to stand up for truth or justice or human rights.”

Julie Bishop’s office insists that they have tried to help Julian Assange and explained that, in the past, they have “offered consular assistance on numerous occasions, which has either been refused or we have not received a response.” But as Assange has been detained at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, one could legitimately question what steps the Australian government have actually taken in order to free Julian.

Christine Assange is nothing if not grateful to the country of Ecuador for all of their help in keeping Julian safe from the U.K. police, as well as from prosecutors in both Sweden and the United States who would like to see him extradited. Christine describes the Ecuadorian government as brave as they have “shown principled courage in standing up to the intimidating, rogue, superpower bully of the U.S. and in standing up for Julian’s human rights.”

Julian Assange’s mother is clearly quite worried about her son, and told ABC Radio in Australia that he would like to be cleared of sexual assault charges so that he can come back to live in Australia.

“He’d like to come back to his own country, but I don’t know how safe that is.”

Christine Assange continues to advocate for Julian, especially as she fears for the state of his health as of late.

“He puts on a brave front for me, I think. But I hear other things, medical reports from his doctor. The doctor’s report says that he is sad, and he’s becoming withdrawn. In fact, the doctor said he wasn’t really up to be interrogated by the Swedish prosecution authority, but he did it anyway.”

As far as Julian Assange’s health goes, being confined to one small room since 2012 has taken its toll on him. The Brisbane Times reports that he suffers from high blood pressure, a Vitamin D deficiency, as he hasn’t seen sunlight in four years, arrhythmia, and shoulder pain.

Catstro and Chenejo on the Granma pic.twitter.com/Y2HtD3ToX5

— Embassy Cat (@EmbassyCat) November 29, 2016

While Assange does have some visitors at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, his main companion has been the loyal cat that his children have given him, and who is a regular poster on Twitter as Embassy Cat.

“On one hand, my child has gone out and done something he really believes in. On the other side, I’m grieving for the fact he’s been persecuted, and demonized, and smeared, and intimidated and threatened for it. He’s still alive. I think he’s going to make it. I’m not sure how, but we’re all working to make that happen.”

Will Christine Assange’s appeals to the Australian government help? And will the U.K. and Sweden finally release her son and abide by the recent United Nations ruling that asserts that Julian Assange has been arbitrarily detained?

[Featured Image by Dolores Ochoa/AP Images]