No legal basis for leaving Assange in high security prison – human rights expert

Nils Melzer, United Nations special rapporteur on torture, said Julian Assange’s health is being ‘destroyed’ (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Accusations of the psychological torture of Julian Assange have not been addressed, with no legal basis for leaving the WikiLeaks founder locked up in solitary confinement in a high security prison, a human rights expert has claimed.

Nils Melzer, United Nations special rapporteur on torture, said Mr Assange’s health is being “destroyed” as he remains in Belmarsh prison in London as the United States continues to try to extradite him.