WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Permitted to Marry Stella Moris in UK Jail – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has received a permit to marry his fiancée Stella Moris, UK media reported.

Last week, Assange and Moris filed a lawsuit against UK Justice Secretary Dominic Raab and the head of Belmarsh prison, where the whistleblower is currently held, for preventing their marriage.

The Guardian reported late Thursday that the ceremony will be held in the Belmarsh prison. A separate report filed by the Sun detailed that the marriage may take place in December, and that the event will be attended by several guests who are also jailed in Belmarsh.

Assange and Moris have been engaged for five years and have two children together. The pair initially began asking for assistance in arranging the marriage in May.

A spokesperson for the prison told the Guardian that Assange's marriage petition "was received, considered and processed in the usual way by the prison governor, as for any other prisoner."

It was further reported that prisoners are allowed to marry while incarcerated under the UK's Marriages Act 1983. Additionally, the cost of a service is taken on by the prisoner if a request is approved by authorities.

"I am relieved that reason prevailed and I hope there will be no further interference with our marriage," Moris is reported as telling the PA news agency.

The WikiLeaks founder was arrested in London on April 11, 2019, and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012. He took refuge inside the Ecuadorean embassy in the UK capital to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was facing sexual assault charges that were later dropped by a Swedish court.

Assange is wanted by the United States on espionage charges after WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents that shed light on war crimes committed by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. If put on trial and convicted in the US, the whistleblower faces up to 175 years in prison.