WikiLeaks' Julian Assange reportedly in poor health after 2 years in a London embassy

WikiLeaks&#039; Julian Assange reportedly in poor health after 2 years in a London embassy — (Image credit: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

Julian Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy in London for the past two years, ever since Britain agreed to extradite the WikiLeak founder to Sweden to face sexual assault charges. Being confined indoors for two years hasn't been good for Assange's health, Britain's The Telegraph reports, and WikiLeaks sources say that he now has a potentially fatal heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, a chronic cough, and a vitamin D deficiency.

The Ecuadorean Embassy can't get Britain's assurance that Assange won't be arrested if he goes to the hospital, so Assange is stuck in his diplomatic mansion for now, with London police stationed outside ready to nab him. That's not to say Assange is taking this lying down: He has a personal trainer — a British special forces veteran, no less — and he plays soccer alone in the embassy's hallways to keep limber. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.