A number of WikiLeaks supporters attended Court 3 of Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday 11th of October to attend an Administrative hearing in the Julian Assange case were he was to be presented to court via video link from Belmarsh prison were he is incarcerated since the 11th of April.
The 13 seats of the public gallery were all taken by WikiLeaks supporters whilst other supporters who could not enter due to the limited seating capacity, stayed outside the Court, holding some banners and posters. A protest had not been called and our numbers were small knowing the problem at the public gallery. At 10 am Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot entered the room to the shock of many as she is notoriously associated with earlier court hearings where she was prejudicial against Julian Assange, dismissive of international law and even speaking of falsehoods. Just before 10:30am she called for a break and left the room, a few moments later Deputy Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) Tam Ikram entered the court and presided proceedings in a surprisingly civil manner. Julian Assange was beamed in from Belmarsh prison via video link, looking emaciated and keeping very still and quiet, it was a shocking site to see his physical deterioration. He confirmed his name and Date of Birth and remained still. The proceedings lasted less than 10 minutes and the Judge after conversing with legal council Gareth Pierce confirmed that he would appear again in court in person on the 21st of October 2019.
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