'He is a Human Being': UNGA President Says Assange's Rights Should Be Protected

NEW YORK (Sputnik) - The rights of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should be fully protected if he is extradited from the UK and prosecuted by US authorities, UN General Assembly President for the 73rd session Maria Espinosa said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"What is the category of Julian Assange, whether he is a journalist, or he is not, for me he is a human being and his human rights should be fully protected and that is what is most important," Espinosa said when asked about Assange’s reported indictment.

Assange and WikiLeaks came in the spotlight in 2010 when they revealed the leaked video of US forces' airstrike in Iraq in 2007. The group has since published hundreds of thousands of other classified materials.

In 2012, Assange received asylum in Ecuador and has been living in the country’s embassy in London since then, fleeing prosecution by the Swedish authorities on sex offense charges that he denied.

Though Sweden dropped the charges in 2017, Assange has still not left the embassy, citing fears that he might be seized and extradited to the United States.

READ MORE: US Filed Secret Charges Against Assange Because He’s a ‘Threat to the System’

The Wall Street Journal has reported the US Justice Department was preparing to prosecute Assange and was confident it would be able to have him extradited to the United States.