TheCable

More than 60 doctors have demanded urgent medical treatment for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

The 48-year-old, who is currently in jail in Britain, has to be rushed to hospital for treatment or he may die in detention, according to a letter sent to Priti Patel, British home secretary, on Monday.

Both the physical and mental condition of Assange must be verified by experts, the letter said.

His health has deteriorated rapidly in prison, they claim.

“Were such urgent assessment and treatment not to take place, we have real concerns, on the evidence currently available, that Mr Assange could die in prison,” the British media quoted the letter as saying.

The letter published in the Guardian newspaper, among other media outlets, was signed by doctors from the US, Australia, Britain, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Sri Lanka and Poland.

“The medical situation is thereby urgent. There is no time to lose,” they wrote.

According to the Guardian, the doctors based their testimony on Assange’s October appearance in a London court and on a report by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer.

He said that Assange showed typical signs of “psychological torture.”

Assange is due to appear in court on February 25 to fight an extradition request from the US which accuses him of helping whistleblower Chelsea Manning publish secret material on US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.