Psychiatrist: Julian Assange Is 'Preparing To Kill Himself In Prison'

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is hearing voices in his head saying “we’re coming to get you” and he is preparing to kill himself in prison, a psychiatrist told his extradition hearing.

Assange, 49, has a history of depression and reportedly suffers from auditory hallucinations, the psychiatrist, Michael Kopelman, said, according to The Daily Mail. He says Assange is at “high risk” of suicide.

“He reported auditory hallucinations, which were voices either inside or outside his head, somatic hallucinations, funny bodily experiences, these have now disappeared,” Kopelman said.

“He also has a long history of musical hallucinations, which is maybe a separate phenomenon, that got worse when he was in prison,” the psychiatrist added.

“The voices are things like, ‘you are dust, you are dead, we are coming to get you.’ They are derogatory and persecutory,” he continued, adding “They seem to have diminished. Subsequently the musical hallucinations have also reduced, and the somatic hallucinations have disappeared.”

Kopelman noted that Assange “reported a near-death experience and wondered if the CIA would find a way to get him or mess with his head” adding that this “may or may not” be paranoia. He warned that “the risk of suicide arises out of clinical factors…but it is the imminence of extradition and or an actual extradition that would trigger the attempt, in my opinion.”

“The professor said the combination of Assange’s depression and ASD (autism spectrum disorder) has caused an ‘almost obsessional rumination’ on the topic,” The Mail reported. “He said: ‘He’s made various plans and undergone various preparations, such as confessed to the Catholic priest, who granted him absolution, began to draft farewell letters to family members and close friends, he’s drawn up a will. Various preparations are in place.'”