Julian Assange, the creator of WikiLeaks, tested positive for Covid, according to his wife, who is fighting for his deportation to the US.
“Julian was feeling unwell last week but started feeling sick on Friday,” Stella Assange was quoted as saying by the Press Association news agency.
“He started coughing and had a fever. He was given some paracetamol. He tested positive for Covid on Saturday.”
Thousands of people formed a human chain around the UK parliament in London on Saturday to demand Assange’s release from London’s Belmarsh prison.
The Australian national, now 51, has been held at the high-security jail since 2019, after serving time for skipping bail in a previous case.
As the pandemic took hold in early 2020, he unsuccessfully applied to be released on bail because of the risk of contracting Covid in prison.
His lawyers said at the time he had a history of illness, including respiratory infections.
Stella Assange, who married Assange at Belmarsh in March and is the mother of their two young sons, said she was concerned for his health.
“The next few days will be crucial for his general health. He is now locked in his cell for 24 hours a day,” she added.
Assange skipped bail in 2010 over Swedish attempts to extradite him in connection with a sexual assault case and took refuge in the Ecuador embassy.
After a change of government in Quito, the case was dismissed in 2019 and he lost his refugee status, which resulted in his arrest and incarceration.
Assange’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in August against the CIA for allegedly listening in on private discussions he had there.
He is contesting the UK’s decision to allow for his extradition to face charges of disclosing US military information regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.