21st of May 2024.
First sent to Belmarsh in November 2022.
Please copy paste, edit and send the following to HMP Belmarsh @
Communications.Belmarsh@justice.gov.uk
Or Print out and send it to :
HMP Belmarsh att. Prison Governor at HM Prison Service Rob Davis , Western Way , Thamesmead , UK - London SE28 0EB
AND copy it to every elected Member of the British Parliament .
Sending it to media will also help : The Guardian , The Guardian Australia, The Guardian in the U.S.
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Subject : 20240520 Prisoner #A9379AY Julian Assange :
Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act prohibits all forms of torture
Date :
To HMP Belmarsh :
Despite being granted leave to a full appeal by the High Court on Monday the 20th of May 2024, Prisoner #A9379AY, Julian Assange remains arbitrarily detained in your institution in conditions deemed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to equate to 'psychological torture' and in contravention to the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State to State Relations.
Your institution is liable to prosecution under Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act prohibiting all forms of torture.
Julian Assange must be released immediately.
The UK , New Zealand, USA and Australia are all signatories to the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State to State Relations which the UK reaffirmed its support for back on the 20th of September 2021 stating :
"Arbitrary detention is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes and its use is a tool of political intimidation.
Arbitrary detention not only violates human rights, but also undermines the trust in institutions that keeps societies safe and open.
We know that persons in marginalised and vulnerable situations, as well as human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society activists are more often arbitrarily detained.
We further recognise that persons who are arbitrarily detained are at greater risk of being subjected to other human rights violations."
The United Nations has deemed Julian Assange's detention to be 'arbitrary' therefore he must be released immediately and provided safe passage to a destination of his choosing .
The U.N. special rapporteur on torture has also deemed that the conditions of Julian Assange's arbitrary detention amount to psychological torture.
Your institution is in breach of The UK Human Rights Act and may be liable for prosecution under the Act.
Torture is an offence in the UK if undertaken by a public official, whether or not a UK citizen or whether or not the torture was carried out in the UK. Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides
(1) A public official or person acting in an official capacity, whatever his nationality, commits the offence of torture if in the United Kingdom or elsewhere he intentionally inflicts severe pain or suffering on another in the performance or purported performance of his official duties.
(2) A person not falling within subsection (1) above commits the offence of torture, whatever his nationality, if-
(a) in the United Kingdom or elsewhere he intentionally inflicts severe pain or suffering on another at the instigation or with the consent or acquiescence-
(i) of a public official; or
(ii) of a person acting in an official capacity; and
(b) the official or other person is performing or purporting to perform his official duties when he instigates the commission of the offence or consents to or acquiesces in it.
Governments must show Greater commitment to tackle trture at home, special rapporteur tells human rights council
The United Nations has also deemed that Julian Assange has the right to be compensated and that he has the right of freedom of expression to continue his work as a publisher.
Signed :
Place :
Date :