Pamela Anderson visits Julian Assange in prison wrapped in shawl covered in ‘free speech’ rant
Pamela Anderson said it was 'very difficult' to see WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in HMP Belmarsh
Pamela Anderson said it was 'very difficult' to see WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in HMP Belmarsh
FORMER Baywatch star Pamela Anderson said "I love him" after visiting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in prison today.
Wrapped in a "free speech" rant shawl, the US actress said it was "very difficult" to see Assange in HMP Belmarsh in south-east London.
The ex-Playboy model, 51, and 47-year-old Assange struck up an unlikely friendship when he lived at the Ecuadorean embassy in London and she was often seen bringing him vegan snacks.
The WikiLeaks founder spent nearly seven years living in the embassy - where he sought political asylum - until last month, when he was dramatically dragged out by police.
He has been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for a bail violation and is fighting extradition to the US where he is wanted for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks.
Anderson visited Assange in jail today accompanied by WikiLeads editor Kristinn Hrafnsson.
Speaking after the visit she said: "He does not deserve to be in a supermax prison. He has never committed a violent act. He is an innocent person."
She revealed he has no access to information, is "really cut off from everybody" and has not been able to speak to his children.
"He is a good man, he is an incredible person. I love him, I can't imagine what he has been going through," Anderson added.
"It was great to see him, but this is just misrule of law in operation. It is absolute shock that he has not been able to get out of his cell."
In a separate note posted on Twitter, she described her friend as the world's "most innocent man" who is treated as "the world's most dangerous man".
The 47-year-old Australian was sentenced last week to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012 and holing up in the Ecuadorian Embassy. At the time, he was facing extradition to Sweden for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations made by two women.
Assange said he sought asylum because he feared being sent to the US to face charges related to WikiLeaks' publication of classified US military documents.
Mr Hrafnsson said Assange is in "general" solitary confinement because he mostly spends 23 hours a day in his cell, adding that the situation was "unacceptable".
Speaking after a court hearing last week, he said: "We are worried about Julian Assange. We are hearing that the situation in Belmarsh Prison is appalling because of austerity and cutbacks.
"For the last weeks since he was arrested, he has spent 23 out of 24 hours a day in his cell most of the time.
"That is what we call in general terms solitary confinement. That's unacceptable. That applies to most of the prisoners in that appalling facility. It is unacceptable that a publisher is spending time in that prison."
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has voiced concern about the "disproportionate" sentence given to the WikiLeaks founder as well as his detention in a high-security prison.
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