For the past five months, Julian Assange has been holed up in a tiny room within the Embassy of Ecuador in London. It’s the only place in the city he can avoid extradition to Sweden — but it’s having some serious implications on his health.
The Guardian reports that Assange has a “chronic lung condition” — it doesn’t say exactly what — which could worsen at an any time. Sadly there’s no easy way for him to receive the medical treatment he requires, as setting foot outside the embassy would result in immediate arrest.
Assange currently lives in a single office room in the Embassy. According to the Guardian, his lifestyle isn’t helping his condition:
He eats mostly takeaway food and uses a treadmill to burn off energy and a vitamin D lamp to make up for the lack of sunlight.
Assange moved into the Embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, when Ecuador gave him diplomatic asylum earlier in the year. Now, he’s pleading with the British Government to allow him safe passage to a hospital from the embassy. Until then, he’s receiving medical treatment within its walls. [The Guardian]
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