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'Essentially Dead': Doctor Who Visited Assange In Ecuador Embassy Testifies
At Extradition Trial
Doctor says Assange has concealed the "full extent of his depression and
suicide plans" when meeting with prison doctors and mental health
specialists.
Kevin Gosztola
Sep 25
Screen shot from Frontline Club
Dr. Sondra Crosby, who visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the
Belmarsh prison and in the Ecuador embassy in London, testified during his
extradition trial.
She is one of the only witnesses to provide statements to the court based on
her observations of his mental condition while he was in the embassy.
An American doctor (who Crosby did not name) organized an "academic
evaluation of the effects of living in the embassy," and in October 2017,
she visited Assange for the first time. Crosby also visited Assange twice in
Belmarsh in October 2019 and January 2020.
Based upon his mental and physical health, Crosby said Assange is at "high
risk of completing suicide if he were to be extradited" to the United
States.
She said Assange suffers from osteoporosis. He would face severe risks to
his physical health-in addition to his mental health-if detained or
incarcerated in a U.S. facility, given the abysmal state of health care in
jails and prisons.
According to Crosby, Assange has concealed the "full extent of his
depression and suicide plans" when meeting with prison doctors and mental
health specialists. He was worried if he revealed his plans or the "extent
of his suicidal ideations" that he "may be put under more surveillance" or
face further isolation.
The U.S. Justice Department charged Assange with 17 counts of violating the
Espionage Act and one count of conspiracy to commit a computer crime that,
as alleged in the indictment, is written like an Espionage Act offense.
The charges criminalize the act of merely receiving classified information,
as well as the publication of state secrets from the U.S. government. It
targets common practices in newsgathering, which is why the case is widely
opposed by press freedom organizations throughout the world.
Crosby has a clinical practice that focuses on care of asylum seekers and
refugees, "most of whom have experienced torture." She has even given
presentations in the U.S. and various countries on "caring for survivors of
torture." As of March 2019, she had evaluated nearly 1000 survivors of
torture.
"When I initially saw Assange in the embassy in October 2017, he certainly
described to me symptoms of depression, symptoms of post-traumatic
disorder," according to Crosby. But he was capable of conversation and not
in a "horrible state," though he had "physical symptoms that were
worrisome."
She observed his mental state was declining. Assange described symptoms of
depression, sleep disturbance, inability to concentrate, and nightmares. It
reflected a lot of "psychological distress."
Assange first "described his thoughts of suicide" to Crosby in 2018. In
fact, he spent "quite a lot of time talking to me about how he had been
thinking about all of this deliberately." He watched Slobodan Praljak's
suicide in a United Nations war crimes tribunal.
In February 2019, Assange "markedly deteriorated physically and
psychologically."
"I was very concerned about a very advanced tooth infection that was causing
him excruciating pain, requiring him to take narcotics," Crosby recalled.
She wanted him to leave the embassy for dental care, but he was unwilling.
As detailed in her December 2019 report provided to the court, Assange
seemed severely depressed to her. He talked like he was "essentially dead."
He was "tearful" and pleaded "for help." He spoke about calling an anonymous
suicide hotline known as the Samaritans.
By October 2019, "he met all of criteria for major depression," Crosby
testified. "It was profoundly impacting his functioning, and he had thoughts
of suicide every day, many times in a day."
Crosby assessed his physical health and was concerned about what she viewed
as symptoms of cardiac disease or anxiety, as well as chronic respiratory
infections.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Assange's defense team raised the issue of
chronic respiratory infections in an attempt to bail him out of jail. The
judge rejected their request.
The prosecution had limited questions for Crosby because the defense did not
have her take the stand as an expert witness. But once again, lead
prosecutor James Lewis shared how disgusted he was with U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer's report on the "psychological torture"
Assange endured in the embassy.
"You rely in your report [to the court] on Nils Melzer. I think you got him
involved," Lewis said.
Crosby told Lewis after her February 2019 visit she was "very alarmed" by
Assange's risk of systemic infection & death. She was afraid he may overdose
from narcotics while trying to deal with a dental infection.
It is unclear why Assange's legal team chose not to have Crosby describe an
incident that occurred with embassy surveillance staff when she visited in
February 2019, but it is potentially relevant to evidence on the U.S.
intelligence-backed espionage operation that was conducted against Assange.
Crosby left the embassy at one point to pick up some food and returned to
the room, where she was meeting with Assange to find her confidential
medical notes were taken. Her notes were "in a space utilized by embassy
surveillance staff," and she presumed they were read, a violation of
doctor-patient confidentiality.
"I was questioned by the security staff and was forced to write a statement
as to who I was and the purpose of my visit (which had already been
established)," Crosby wrote in a March 2019 affidavit. "I was asked for a
copy of my medical license, which was taken and photocopied (my passport and
phone had been taken earlier). The embassy security guard then told me he
had to 'make a call' before I would be allowed back in the embassy to
complete my evaluation."
Crosby added, "I was not informed who he was calling or why. The experience
was intimidating."
Lewis wrapped up his questions for Crosby by rhetorically asking, "Are you
aware that no one ever extradited to the U.S. from the U.K. has committed
suicide?"
It came after testimony from Dr. Nigel Blackwood, who the prosecution
commissioned to conduct a psychiatric assessment of Assange that was done by
phone in July 2020.
Blackwood consistently downplayed the impacts of solitary confinement on
individuals with depression, whether they were incarcerated in a British or
American prison.
And Blackwood promoted the inaccurate assertions by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Gordon Kromberg that the Alexandria Detention Center, where Assange would be
held in pretrial confinement, has no solitary confinement.
