Page 6 - aruba-today-20200930

A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 30 september 2020

Assange may end up at Colorado Supermax jail, U.K. court told

By PAN PYLAS be a cleric at the Finsbury
Associated Press Park Mosque in London,
LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks was extradited from the
founder Julian Assange U.K. to the U.S. in 2012. He
would have to be "almost has had his two arms am-
dying" to get out of argu- putated and is blind in one
ably the most notorious eye. SAMs were imposed
prison in the United States on him soon after extradi-
if convicted of espionage tion and he has for the past
charges and sent there, a five years been housed in a
court at London's Old Bai- special secure unit of ADX
ley heard Tuesday. known as H-Unit.
Assange, who is fighting an Lindsay Lewis, a New York
extradition request from the attorney who has repre-
U.S., would likely be sent to sented Mustafa, told the
the federal Supermax pris- court in written testimony
on in Florence, Colorado, that Assange would "in all
if convicted, according to likelihood wind up in this
Maureen Baird, a former unit as well" if held under
warden at the Metropoli- SAMs and sent to ADX.
tan Correctional Center in "There is no reason to con-
New York. clude that SAMs imposed
U.S. prosecutors have in- on Mr. Assange would be
dicted the 49-year-old As- any less arbitrary, oppres-
sange on 17 espionage In this Wednesday May 1, 2019 file photo buildings are reflected in the window as WikiLeaks sive, or difficult to chal-
charges and one charge founder Julian Assange is taken from court, where he appeared on charges of jumping British bail lenge, should the U.S. gov-
of computer misuse over seven years ago, in London. ernment determine, in its
WikiLeaks' publication of Associated Press apparently unbridled dis-
secret American military ditions in the U.S. administrative measures, or wardens to ease the restric- cretion, that they are ap-
documents a decade ago. Baird said Assange would SAMs, if extradited to the tions. propriate," she said.
The charges carry a maxi- likely face the most oner- U.S., both in pre-trial deten- "There is no grey area, it's all The facility is also home to
mum sentence of 175 years ous prison conditions that tion and after any convic- black and white," she said. Unabomber Ted Kaczynski,
in prison. the U.S. can impose, con- tion, because of national Given that likely SAMs re- Mexican drug lord Joaquin
Assange's defense team ditions that she has seen security concerns within quirement, Baird said the "El Chapo" Guzman, 1993
says he is entitled to First lead to an array of mental the U.S. government. "only place" for him to go World Trade Center mas-
Amendment protections health issues, including anx- Under these measures, would be ADX Florence termind Ramzi Yousef and
for the publication of iety and paranoia. which are at the discre- in Colorado "unless there Zacarias Moussaoui, the
leaked documents that ex- "From my experience, of tion of the U.S. Attorney was a severe change in his only man ever convicted in
posed U.S. military wrong- close to three decades of General and have been medical status." a U.S. court for a role in the
doing in Iraq and Afghani- working in federal prisons, I used on convicted terror- Citing the example of con- Sept. 11 attacks.
stan. They have also said would agree that long term ists, inmates spend almost victed terrorist, Mustafa The court has heard how
he is suffering from wide- isolation can have serious the whole day confined in Kamel Mustafa, Baird said one former warden at the
ranging mental health is- negative effects on an in- their cells with no contact Assange would have to be prison, Robert Hood, has
sues, including suicidal mate's mental health," she with other prisoners and "almost dying" to be sent to described the Supermax
tendencies, that could be said. little contact with the out- another facility. prison as a "fate worse than
exacerbated if he ends up She said Assange would side world. She said there Mustafa, who is also known death" that was "not built
in inhospitable prison con- likely be held under special was little, if no, flexibility for as Abu Hamza and used to for humanity."q
Sri Lanka government decides to ban cattle slaughter

dairy industry and thereby hard for traditional farmers Perera said dairy farming in
save money used to pur- to acquire cows for dairy Sri Lanka is mostly a cottage
chase imported milk pow- farming. industry in which individual
der. Independent political ana- farmers also raise cattle for
But an analyst said the de- lyst Kusal Perera called the side income. Such farmers
cision was politically moti- decision "totally counter- will have difficulty if they
vated to please the Bud- productive" because "no are denied the opportunity
dhist majority and would milk industry can sustain to slaughter and sell unpro-
harm dairy farmers. itself without a beef indus- ductive, aging cattle.
Cabinet ministers decided try." The Cabinet said it will
at a meeting Monday to He said the move is "more implement a suitable pro-
immediately amend the a political decision than an gram for aging cattle that
Animal Act, the Cattle economic one" to please can no longer be used ef-
Slaughter Ordinance and the majority Sinhala Bud- fectively for agricultural
In this Oct.5, 2014 file photo, a Sri Lankan Muslim man throws a other laws and regulations dhist constituency. purposes, but didn't de-
bundle of grass to a calf at a livestock market on the eve of Eid passed by local authorities Buddhists as well as minor- scribe the program.
al-Adha festival in Colombo, Sri Lanka. regarding cattle slaughter, ity Hindus avoid beef for re- It also said the government
Associated Press the government's informa- ligious and cultural reasons. will import beef and pro-
By BHARATHA MALLA- — Sri Lanka's government tion department said. Some Buddhist monks and vide it at a concessionary
WARACHI announced Tuesday that It said the Cabinet believed allied groups have long price to people who con-
Associated Press it will ban cattle slaughter, that an increase in cattle sought a ban on cattle sume it since it will not be
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) saying it would help the slaughter was making it slaughter. produced domestically.q