アサンジ被告拘束１０年　国連特別報告者、釈放促す

【ジュネーブＡＦＰ＝時事】内部告発サイト「ウィキリークス」の創設者のジュリアン・アサンジ被告（49）が最初に逮捕されてから、7日で10年となった。国連特別報告者は翌8日、同被告を現在拘禁している英国に対し、「恣意（しい）的な拘束」をやめ直ちに釈放するよう強く促すとともに、米国への身柄引き渡し要請に関する決定は、刑事施設外で待つことを認めてしかるべきだと訴えた。（写真はベルギー首都ブリュッセルにある英国の欧州連合（EU）代表施設前で、内部告発サイト「ウィキリークス」の創設者、ジュリアン・アサンジ被告の釈放を求める支持者ら）
　オーストラリア国籍のアサンジ被告が最初に逮捕されたのは、２０１０年１２月７日。
　被告は現在、英国で最も警備が厳重とされるベルマーシュ刑務所に拘禁されており、来年１月４日に予定されている米国への身柄引き渡しに関する次の審理を待っている。
　拷問や非人道的な処遇、刑罰を専門とするニルス・メルツァー国連特別報告者は、「英当局は当初、スウェーデンが出した性的暴行容疑での逮捕状に基づきアサンジ被告を拘束したが、本件の捜査は後に証拠不十分で正式に打ち切られている」と指摘。
　「アサンジ氏は有罪判決を受けた犯罪者ではなく、他者に危害を加える恐れもない。よって厳重警備の刑務所での長期にわたる独房拘禁は必要でも妥当でもない上、明らかに法的根拠が欠如している」との見解を示した。
　国連特別報告者は国連の代弁者ではなく、調査結果を国連に報告する。
　アサンジ被告は、２０１０年にウィキリークスがアフガニスタンやイラクでの軍事行動に関する機密文書５０万点を公開したことをめぐり、米国で１８の罪に問われている。有罪が確定すれば、最高で禁錮１７５年に処される可能性がある。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/12/10-12:26）

A UN rights expert on Tuesday urged Britain to release Julian Assange immediately following a decade of arbitrary detention, insisting the WikiLeaks founder should await a decision on extradition to the United States outside prison.
The 49-year-old Australian was first arrested 10 years ago on December 7, 2010.
He is currently being held in the top-security Belmarsh jail in London awaiting the next hearing, due on January 4, on a US extradition request, in a case seen by his supporters as a cause celebre for media freedom.
The British authorities initially detained Mr. Assange on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by Sweden in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct that have since been formally dropped due to lack of evidence, said UN human rights expert Nils Melzer.
Today, he is detained for exclusively preventative purposes, said Melzer, the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Mr. Assange is not a criminal convict and poses no threat to anyone, so his prolonged solitary confinement in a high-security prison is neither necessary nor proportionate and clearly lacks any legal basis.
UN rights experts do not speak for the United Nations but report their findings to it.
Assange faces 18 charges in the United States relating to the 2010 release by WikiLeaks of 500,000 secret files detailing aspects of military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
If convicted in the United States, Assange could be jailed for up to 175 years.
- 'Severe suffering' -
In 2012, while on bail, he dodged an extradition attempt by Sweden by claiming political asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London.
He remained in the small diplomatic mission for seven years and the Swedish charges were later dropped.
But he was turned over to British police in April 2019 after a change of government in Quito, and jailed for having skipped bail. Washington then served a formal extradition request.
Melzer said the progressively severe suffering inflicted on Assange amounts not only to arbitrary detention, but also to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Melzer said Assange, who suffers from a pre-existing respiratory health condition, should be released from prison during the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the former computer hacker could potentially be placed under guarded house arrest.
Mr. Assange's rights have been severely violated for more than a decade, said Melzer.
He must now be allowed to live a normal family, social and professional life.
Assange should not be extradited to the United States due to serious human rights concerns, the UN expert added.