Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, will marry Stella Moris, his long-term partner, inside a high-security prison in southeast London.
Four guests, two official witnesses, and two guards attended the small ceremony. Assange is being held in custody while US authorities seek his extradition to stand trial on 18 counts stemming from WikiLeaks’ release of massive troves of classified US military and diplomatic records over a decade ago.
The 50-year-old Australian has been in Belmarsh prison since 2019 and was previously imprisoned for seven years in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. He denies any wrongdoing.
He fathered two children while working at the embassy with Moris, a lawyer more than a decade his junior whom he met in 2011 when she joined his legal team. Their romance started in 2015.
The registrar will conduct the ceremony during visiting hours at the prison, which has housed some of Britain’s most notorious criminals, including child murderer Ian Huntley. On security grounds, the prison has denied permission for journalists or a photographer to be present as witnesses.
In an article, Moris wrote, “I am convinced that they fear that people will see Julian as a human being.” “It’s not a name; it’s a person.” Their fear reveals that they want Julian to be as anonymous as possible, even on his wedding day, and especially on his wedding day.”
She described her “love of her life” as wonderful, intelligent, and funny, and said she was marrying him. Vivienne Westwood, a British fashion designer who has previously campaigned against Assange’s extradition, designed Moris’ wedding gown and Assange’s kilt, a nod to his family’s Scottish ties.
Assange was dealt a setback earlier this month when he was denied permission to appeal a decision to extradite him to the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court. He could, however, challenge the government’s approval of the extradition.