Fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood sat in a birdcage outside the Old Bailey this morning in a stunt to support Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Dame Vivienne used a megaphone to call for Assange's immediate release, insisting: "This is the most important thing in the world."
She wore a yellow trouser suit for the protest, said to evoke the canary in a cage used to test for poisonous gases in a coal mine as well as be a representation of Assange's plight.
Assange is currently being detained at HMP Belmarsh while fighting extradition to the USA.
He is wanted for alleged espionage over the leak of around 250,000 confidential security cables relating to the Iraq and Afghan wars, but insists it is a politically-motivated prosecution of a journalist.
Dame Vivienne, a long-time supporter of Assange, called the case a "stitch-up" and told the crowd this morning: "It's not a crime to tell the truth."
Dame Vivienne Westwood protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey
She argued Assange had published information of public importance which was being kept secret, in the same way journalists do on a daily basis.
"This is the most important thing in the world because the world is riddled with corruption, and we are all going to die from climate change and political financial corruption."
She said the cage "represents the space Julian will inhabit if he is extradited to the US.
“For the rest of his life he will become a symbol of what happens to you if you dare to expose the truth."
The stunt took place in the street outside the Old Bailey, where Assange's case is expected to resume in September.
It has been delayed by four months by the coronavirus pandemic, with three weeks of evidence and legal argument still to be heard.
Assange has missed his last three court appearances, citing ill-health. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser has said he must appear in court on July 27 or produce a doctor's note to explain his absence.