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'Baywatch' Pamela Anderson visits Julian Assange in prison, says she 'loves him'

Anderson Visited Assange Several Times When He Lived As A Fugitive Inside Ecuador's Embassy.

PTI | Updated on: 08 May 2019, 08:28:29 AM

London:

Former "Baywatch" star and now animal rights campaigner Pamela Anderson spoke emotionally after meeting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a London prison on Tuesday, warning that his life was in danger. "It's been very difficult to see Julian here and to make our way through the prison to get to him was quite shocking," said Anderson, who visited Assange several times when he lived as a fugitive inside Ecuador's embassy.

"He's a good man, he's an incredible person. I love him. I can't imagine what he has been going through," the US actress and former Playboy model said outside Belmarsh prison, wearing a large cape with slogans calling for the defence of free speech.

"We need to save his life. That's how serious it is," she said, adding: "We just have to keep fighting because it's unfair. He's sacrificed so much to bring the truth out". Anderson, who lives in France, starred in the hit US series "Baywatch" and is now a prominent animal rights activist.

British police arrested Assange at the embassy last month after Ecuador withdrew his asylum after seven years. He had sought refuge there to escape extradition to Sweden where he had been accused of rape and sexual assault.

Assange is now serving out a 50-week sentence for jumping bail and is contesting an extradition request from the United States where he is wanted for hacking. WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of classified documents exposing US military wrongdoing in the Iraq war and diplomatic secrets about scores of countries.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, who visited the prison with Anderson, said: "Julian Assange is bent but not broken. He's an extremely resilient person. "I want you to think about the fact that such resilience usually comes from the fact that he knows that he is innocent," he said.

In a separate legal case, Assange was also found guilty of breaching the UK's Bail Act by Westminster Magistrates' Court in London last month after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had sought refuge in 2012 following his bail over sexual assault allegations related to Sweden.

At a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Deborah Taylor told Assange it was difficult to envisage a more serious example of breach of bail conditions.

"By hiding in the embassy you deliberately put yourself out of reach, while remaining in the UK," she said.

In a letter read to the court, Assange apologised ?unreservedly? to people who feel he had disrespected them by the way he pursued his case.

"I found myself struggling with terrifying circumstances for which neither I nor those from whom I sought advice could work out any remedy," he said.

Assange's legal troubles date back to February 2011, when London's Westminster Magistrates Court ordered his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual offending, including an allegation of rape. He was granted bail on conditions throughout the appeals process, which culminated in June 2012, when he entered the Ecuadorean Embassy seeking asylum.

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First Published : 08 May 2019, 08:28:29 AM

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