(CNN) – The couple of the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, revealed that they had two children while living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
In a video Posted online and shared by Wikileaks, on the first anniversary of her arrest, Stella Moris said that she and Assange met in 2011 when she was added to their legal team.
“I was at the embassy almost every day and I knew Julian very well and in 2015 we were a couple,” he said. “We fall in love. This is a person I knew well by then. The person I know the most in the world. He is extraordinary, he is generous and he is very tender and loving. ”
She said they now have two children: Max and Gabriel. Moris is part of the international legal team working for Assange, she is not involved in the current extradition case.
“Forming a family was a deliberate decision to tear down those walls around him … and imagine a life beyond that prison,” he said.
“Although for many people it would seem crazy to start a family in that context, for us it was the most sensible thing to do. It was what keeps things real. And it does. It puts me on the ground and when Julian sees the children, it gives him a lot of peace. ”
Assange was held in the Belmarsh High Security Prison in London for the past year, after being removed from the Ecuadorian embassy. He had been locked up in the embassy, a few meters from the Harrods department store in Knightsbridge, since 2012, when he was granted asylum as part of an attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was facing sexual assault charges. The Swedish case has since been withdrawn, but Assange feared the extradition of U.S due to his work with WikiLeaks and he remained at the embassy. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Moris said he is struggling to figure out how to explain to children why Assange is in prison and was thrilled to describe why he had decided to go public with his identity.
“I have taken many steps over so many years and I feel that Julian’s life may be coming to an end,” he said. “They have spent 10 years knocking someone down, trying to destroy their life. It is a well-known pattern for whistleblowers, people who expose the powerful, “he explained.
“Somehow everyone has failed Julian. We have all failed Julian.
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Assange’s legal team had submitted a request for bail, arguing that the epidemic of coronavirus made it unsafe for him to remain in prison. It was rejected. According to the Press Association of Great Britain (PA), Moris spoke in support of the bail request.
PA reports that the court rejected his request for anonymity. However, the judge delayed making the woman’s identity public until 4 pm on April 14, pending a possible judicial review in the Superior Court.
WikiLeaks Ambassador Joseph Farrell told CNN on Monday: “Ms. Moris did not make this decision lightly. She has protected the privacy of her family fiercely for many years. She wanted to speak in support of Julian’s request for bail, given the serious risk to her health amid the covid-19 pandemic, and the judge refused to remain anonymous, forcing her to go public. He is a serious, intelligent and principled person, and a brilliant legal analyst. ”
Lawyer Aitor Martínez, a member of Assange’s legal team, told CNN that Moris has worked with his team from the beginning. “She has always been very protective of her privacy, and that is why she is not used to interacting with the press and has not been exposed to it before,” Martinez said.
Assange’s extradition hearing in London will continue on May 18.
Sarah Dean, Simon Cullen and Claudia Rebaza from CNN in London
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