Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Assange's body broken down, mother says

Julian Assange's body has broken down after close to four years in a small London embassy, his mother says.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in 2012.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in 2012. Source: AAP

Christine Assange said her son has had only brief moments of sunlight since entering the Ecuadorian embassy in June 2012 and his body is feeling the effects.

"His body is breaking down to such an extent that he now has heart problems, a chronic lung infection (and) deep and severe shoulder pain," she told ABC radio on Friday.

"His doctor has ordered an MRI and one hour of sunlight a day and the UK government has refused."

Ms Assange also said the UK and Swedish governments had lied and spread misinformation about her son's case.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"They've lied to the media and that's one of the biggest problems in this case: the amount of misinformation put out there," she said.

Ms Assange cited the example of Swedish prosecutors refusing to interview her son in the UK, despite doing so for 44 witnesses and suspects since 2010.


1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world