Vivienne Westwood

Image supplied

Watch: Dame Vivienne Westwood protests by suspending herself in a cage

Westwood was protesting Julian Assange’s extradition hearing: ‘I am Julian Assange. I am the canary in the cage!’

Vivienne Westwood

Image supplied

Eccentric British fashion designer and businesswoman, Vivienne Westwood staged a dramatic protest outside the Old Bailey in London Tuesday.

Dame Westwood, 79, was suspended 10ft in the air inside a giant birdcage, all to protest against Julian Assange’s extradition hearings, which start up again in September.

Westwood staged the protest with the help of her son, Joe Corre, to refocus attention on what she says is the ongoing threat to press freedoms, and the “dangerous precedent” that would be set were WikiLeaks Founder Assange to be extradited to the US.

Why is Westwood protesting?

Assange, 48, is still being held in London’s maximum-security Belmarsh Prison, where he awaits the continuation of his trial.

“I am Julian Assange. I am the canary in the cage. If I die down the coal mine from poisonous gas, that’s the signal for all the miners to leave,” Westwood proclaimed via loudspeaker from her giant cage Tuesday morning.

“But I am half poisoned already from government corruption and gaming of the system and legal system by governments. I am still whistling away, but seven billion people don’t know what the f**k is going on.”

The courts have rescheduled Assange’s extradition hearing, which was due to take place on 18 May, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It has now been rescheduled for 7 September.

The hearings will determine whether or not the UK will extradite him to the US, where he faces 17 charges under the Espionage Act and a possible 175 years in prison, if convicted.

“This could happen to every journalist, because it is not a crime to publish the truth,” Westwood concluded.

Many online applauded Westwood’s efforts at drawing attention to the case once more, amid a backdrop of social justice causes dominating the headlines in the mainstream media.