Endgame for Assange

Sidelined The theatre director Angela Richter visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Ecuador's embassy in London. For the last time, she fears
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Julian Assange looks very pale. "Pale" isn't quite accurate; his skin looks like parchment, almost translucent. He hasn't seen the sun for almost seven years. He sits opposite to me in the so-called Meeting Room of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, the snow-white hair, his trademark, is shoulder-length and he wears a long beard. We joke about him looking like Santa. He wears a thick down jacket and eats a piece of the sushi I brought for lunch. It is cold in the room and I regret that I left my winter coat at the reception.

It is just before Christmas, and Julian Assange has probably just had the worst time of his stay at the embassy. Since March 2018 he was de facto in isolation, no telephone, no internet and no visits. The internet ban must be particularly difficult for him; it was not on