Dressed in head to toe yellow to resemble a canary, fashion designer and political activist Dame Vivienne Westwood on Tuesday was suspended from a large bird cage to protest against the extradition of Julian Assange.
Outside the Old Bailey in London, the outspoken environmentalist shouted through a mega-phone to “free Julian Assange,” who she said wants to get “out of the cage.”
Assange is due to appear before the Old Bailey on 7 September and if extradited will face 17 charges under the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after thousands of classified documents were published in 2010 and 2011.
The protest of about 20 demonstrators was organised by Dame Vivienne’s son, Joe Corre, who co-founded Agent Provocateur.
The 79-year old activist told the BBC she had dressed in yellow because canaries were used by miners to detect poisonous gas. Dame Vivienne told the BBC: “If the canary died they all got out. Julian Assange is in a cage and he needs to get out. Don’t extradite to America.”
View this post on InstagramDame Vivienne Westwood has led a protest to stop the extradition of Julian Assange, while suspended in a large bird cage. Dressed in a canary yellow suit, the fashion designer chanted ‘free Julian Assange’ from a 10ft (3m) cage outside the Old Bailey. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to appear for a full extradition hearing on 7 September. Dame Vivienne said she wanted to get Julian Assange ‘out of the cage’. #DameVivienneWestwood #VivienneWestwood #JulianAssange #CanaryInACoalMine #BirdCage #Stunt #OldBailey #London #News Photos: @jamiemoreland_, BBC / @tor_jones, PA
Article source: BBC