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    One court attendee on Twitter fills a vacuum left by missing-in-action, salaried journalists Archived Message

    Posted by margo on December 13, 2019, 12:33 pm, in reply to "UK runs down the clock in slow-mo assassination of Julian Assange"

    Lawyer Peirce asking for a 'separate visiting room' seems a far minor request compared to asking for proper computer access, so Assange can study his own case. Why didn't Peirce ask for house bail, or university teaching hospital access for MRI scans and other health checks, recently demanded in an open letter from 65 doctors?
    Sustained weight loss (Shipton reported he feels Assange's ribs when he hugs him) can be a sign of cancer, which can only be determined by scan or X-ray.

    When Assange reaches the closed East Virginia court, no defence lawyers are allowed in with him and he has to argue his own defence - so he needs to know it backwards. Disgraceful that he was disallowed any legal documents for the first six months in Belmarsh - and now still battles to know what's actually going on.
    Peirce mentions a 'claustrophobic journey': John Shipton spoke more openly about a claustrophic 'hotbox' that 'disturbed' Julian greatly.
    A more face-saving tone from Baraitser (under instruction from Judge Arbuthnot who still refuses to formally recuse hersself despite massive conflict of interest, around both spouse and son). Baraitser previously showed a simpering attitude towards unnamed Americans in court, as reported by Craig Murray and John Pilger.

    Volunteer Naomi Colvin (@auerfeld) tweets from Westminster Magistrate's Court this morning:

    @auerfeld

    Back. Gareth [Peirce, lawyer] raised issues of not having access to her client in Belmarsh.
    ·
    There have been problems scheduling lawyer client interviews for the past few weeks.

    There is a summary document that gives details of the issues the defence wants to raise, including 20-25 witnesses and other evidence.
    ·
    Gareth has not been able to discuss this with her client. He is not aware of some of the underlying evidence that has emerged recently.


    There is a video interview for Monday but the only other date Belmarsh has made available is the 18th - that's the deadline for defence evidence.

    In response District Judge [DJ] Baraitser reminded counsel that she has no jurisdiction about what happens at Belmarsh, but made a statement about the desirability of Assange having adequate access to counsel.

    Gareth Peirce invited Baraitser to make a separate visiting room in the healthcare wing available for legal visits - as is happening in an unrelated case, after direction from the relevant judge.

    DJ Baraitser said that she hoped that despite the access issues that Assange's counsel would be able to “serve at least some of the evidence" so that the case management hearing on the 19th can be meaningful.

    Baraitser also asked for advanced notice of defence applications to be made on the 19th.

    Finally, DJ Baraitser asked Gareth Peirce if it would help if Julian #Assange were presented in person on the 19th in order to facilitate a meeting afterwards. Peirce declined saying that "It's a difficult claustrophobic journey from Belmarsh".

    Julian was looking a bit worse than on his last video appearance on 18/11.
    Visibly depressed, slumped shoulders.
    He had his arms crossed with hands inside his sleeves throughout.
    Maybe he was cold.

    He answered questions without long delays in response though and was paying careful attention through the hearing.

    There was a weird moment early on when the clerk asked him to confirm that he was a Swedish citizen. Julian was a bit confused by that, not more than anyone else in the courtroom.

    For clarity's sake “Gareth" in this thread refers to Gareth Peirce, Julian's solicitor who was representing him at today's hearing.

    Baraitser's comment in court (which she said she hoped would be sufficient to resolve the access issues): "I have no desire to stand in the way of lawyers having adequate access to their client. It is clearly in the interests of justice for them to do so."

    #Assange

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