Behind the scenes of Julian Assange's maximum-security wedding | 60 Minutes Australia

London in spring is a perfect place and time to get married and that's how it was on Wednesday for Stella Morris, as for all brides, her

wedding

was unforgettable but it was a ceremony like no other. Her husband is the Australian founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, which meant the happy couple exchanged vows in England's toughest

maximum

security

prison, Belmarsh Prison, while their two young children watched Stella and Julian promise to try to live as normal a life as possible, a bittersweet commitment given that the groom faces extradition to the United States and the prospect of 175 more years. in jail if convicted of espionage as dawn breaks on a stunning spring morning in london it's a promising and perfect day for a

wedding

and the anticipation is contagious so this is a bow tie that has to go on your neck oh, darling, In the midst of this happy chaos is bride-to-be Stella Morris.

Aren't you done yet? max, three years old, and gabriel, four and a half years old, can't contain their excitement, maybe they don't appreciate all its meaning, but they know that this will be a special day for their mother and father

julian

assange

that's dad what have you told them to kids max and gabe about what to expect? We are going to go see dad and we are going to dress up and dad and mom are going to Tell each other how much they love each other and that they will always be together mommy I'm coming you are good, you like me, okay, my dress and my hair dress mom, you like it my dress, wow, the big day, yes, that's right.

Yes, you feel excited, yes, you seem very calm, I just hope that everything goes well, without a doubt, this will be a different wedding, why is mom wearing such a beautiful dress? Because she came to the cards for you, her father. Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is on remand at Belmar

maximum

security

prison and has been there for three years. Today a small room inside that prison becomes an escape to exchange vows. The prisoner becomes a groom. And he's just Julian. Julian is not the activist or the journalist. or the prisoner, yes, it's Julian, your husband today, yes, oh, I should stop this.

Uh-oh, we're getting closer as we reach the prison gates. Julian Assange's supporters are already waiting. Wow, a lot of people here, you will come out as Assange star, yes? Yes, why is it important to have this wedding day? I want the world to know that we are a unit, that we are a family despite the circumstances that are happening to us and we want to celebrate our love considering what Julian is facing. Is it for you two to be together forever? No matter what happens, I will be by your side. I will fight for him until he is free, so the final dress fitting and the Vivian Westwood dress we were with Stella in the week before her wedding were A tense moment after the news that Julian Assange was one step further away from freedom having lost his appeal against extradition to the U.S.

He was wanted there on espionage charges for publishing classified U.S. military material from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and could face 175 years. in jail if he is found guilty he has promised to continue fighting How are you? I don't know how to answer that question. Stopping a lot of blows all the time. His friend and independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie has long campaigned for Julian's release demanding the Australian government save him. From the brutal Belmarsh prison, Julian exhibits the signs of someone who has suffered psychological torture, what was it like for you to visit Julian in Belmush prison?

It affected me quite a bit, I mean, this is one of the most notorious prisons in the UK, it's a high security prison where they put the worst of the worst terrorist murderers, the worst of the worst, but this week planning a wedding behind bars has been made even more difficult by unexpected and seemingly meaningless rules. I must understand that I'm sorry, Julian is calling from prison at 11 a.m. The witnesses designated by the couple have been excluded from the ceremony by the prison, we are putting the wedding in danger and with the argument of preventing a security risk they cannot be published wedding photos of the couple why are they threatened by a wedding photo are they terrified of being seen in public and we just want to get married you know we are just two people who want to get married and it has been incredibly difficult to get to this point yours It is the most unlikely love The affair was born in the confines of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where Julian spent seven years as the most famous refugee in the world.

Even more shocking than his surprise arrest by London police in 2019 was the discovery of secrets Julian left behind his fiancée Stella Morris and her two children. gabriel and max is parker's favorite hobby stella yes stella was working as a lawyer for wikileaks in 2015 when she and

julian

fell in love in 2017 they were engaged and had their first child gabriel has an affair a year and a half later the very independent max arrived and together despite their size they are a charming force of nature no no no no no no no while max is on the run gabriel prefers to climb now the skinny guy is the tough skinny guy oh that's good and if you really need me to call and I'll give you my other hand .

This is not easy. You are doing it very well. Yes, seeing Julian and the boys together even under the circumstances of being inside the prison walls. What is it like to be a witness? Yeah, okay, jump. julian is very affectionate and they are attracted to him they love to hug him and be hugged by him um it's fun it's exhausting but it's fun it's fun during the week stella is indeed a single mother here she is, look, but every saturday she takes the children. visiting julian making sure he has a strong presence in their lives we're going to go see dad we're going to go see dad I still don't use the word prison what they know is that there are bad people that are stopping dad Coming home and that dad is a superhero, a superhero who can't wait to get married, even if it's in prison, the guard told us not to kiss with our mouths open, so yeah, you know they're scolding us like we're teenagers, you know the one happy sound. of children playing the boys

assange

max and gabriel enjoying a freedom that their father julian hasn't experienced in a decade i think you're a good runner a good runner this is our favorite picnic spot isn't it? but having a family and Deciding to marry Stella Morris behind bars despite all the restrictions speaks of invincible defiance and lasting freedom of spirit.

Nothing is going to dampen the excitement of the day because this is our day. Yes, we can wait and wait to have our wedding on our day. In terms, there comes a point where simply having the wedding is a wedding on our terms for Stella. It's been a week of a flurry of appointments and pickups as her wedding day approaches. Hello, nice to meet you, congratulations, thank you, thank you, so this is your cake, but the top priority of always fighting for Julian's release has also been stepped up with US prosecutors convincing the UK courts to reject the Julian's appeal against extradition promises to treat him humanely, so he is not reassured by the assurances offered by US prosecutors.

It is a complete misnomer, they are not guarantees at all, it is a letter from the US government to the UK government and in that letter they do not rule out putting him in isolation and, in fact, a isolation that, according to the courts of the UK United Kingdom, will kill him, so it is shocking that the UK courts have accepted those so-called assurances and are basically playing with his life. What do you think are the chances of Julian Assange being extradited? He keeps fighting and keeps appealing. Do you think it could be successful? Ultimately, extradition is done by treaty. it's a political decision lawyer preston burton is a specialist in intelligence and security and believes that julian will ultimately face trial in the united states given our government's relationship with the british government i think my intuition is that it would be extraordinary if britain refused to extradite him my feeling is that that will probably happen later this year julian assange faces 17 counts of espionage and one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion also known as hacking for the disclosure of almost three quarters of a million confidential military documents and videos between 2010 and 2011.

He claims that upon receiving the material he published it as any journalist would do in the public interest, exposing alleged war crimes committed by US troops in Iraq. Assange's supporters have described the US response as one born of shame and feeling exposed and accused as they have been. of war crimes, is there any force in that argument? I think those of us who work in the criminal justice system often wonder if we're looking to prosecute someone because they did something that hurt someone or because we're angry at them, we certainly are angry. In Julian Assange, journalists are not allowed into his house to obtain information to advance his story.

Certainly the accusations are that he went the extra mile if Julian Assange is not a journalist or editor, what is he? That's a great question. I don't know what you would describe with that, uh, uh, certainly someone who is an activist. I think the intelligence community and governments would feel that he's nothing more than someone who dresses like a journalist, but is actually involved in espionage, so um, you know, I'm not going to put a label on him, that's something for others to do. do and others have basically said that he is a spy, yes, that he is reckless and that he has no beneficial purpose other than to benefit himself.

The Australian government should do it. intervene and do exactly what it takes, whatever it takes to get him out and put an end to this. If there is political intervention from the United States, there may be political intervention from Australia to put an end to this. Why do you think Australia doesn't? He does not act because he does not care about his citizens because he will throw them under a bus, but there are many others who do care about Julian Assange. Iconic London designer Vivian Westwood has donated Stella's wedding dress so-so. You look beautiful. Her support of the couple will become a permanent reminder to me.

Vivian Julian is a pure soul and a freedom fighter. May the force of holy life bless her marriage as she prepares to marry the man of her dreams. Stella reflects on how much life has changed. Well, we are never together alone when we are sitting in the visiting room, he has to sit in a chair, we have to be on the other side, you know, everything is guarded, the other day we were kissing and the guard told us no . open mouth kisses, so yeah, you just know they're scolding us like we're teenagers, you know it's hard to carry out a love story under those circumstances, well, you adapt, you adapt, if that bond is there, It's there on Wednesday.

Stella arrived at Belmarsh Prison to seal. that marriage bond is fine, good luck with Julian's brother available, she walked through the prison doors to what, due to the circumstances, would be a very private affair, the younger guests dressed to match their father and got ready. They stole the show, three and a half hours later, an emotional lady. Stella Assange came out to thank her followers and her new husband, thank you guys, I don't know what to say, I'm very happy, I'm very sad and now, for the first time, Stella reveals the precious details of what happened behind that prison.

Walls said I looked amazing, yes, and he looked great in his kilt, yes, and he had cut his hair so he looked very sweet, yes, clean shaven to exchange vowels, what was that moment like? Really beautiful, we hugged each other and it was like we were I was in a prison for a moment, the prison walls disappeared, the guards, the prisoners and the visitors were all saying congratulations and when Julian walked in they also started clapping, oh that must be to have felt great, yes, despite the excitement and support of those waiting. out of the hardest moment of all after committing to spend the rest of her life with julian stella had to leave prison without him she felt cruel nothing should separate a bride and groom on their wedding day so a day of happiness great happiness and a day of sadness Yes, incredibly bittersweet.

Hi, I'm Tara Brown, thanks for watching 60 Minutes Australia. Subscribe to our channel now for new stories and exclusive clips every week and don't miss our bonus minute segments and full 60 minute episodes on Nine Now. com dot u and app nine now