Vivienne Westwood Stages A Protest In A Huge Cage While Dressed Up As A Canary
Image via John Gomez / Shutterstock.com
British designer Vivienne Westwood dressed up as “a canary” and swung in the air in a large birdcage to protest against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the US.
Westwood was dressed in a yellow suit in reference to the canaries, which were used by miners to detect poisonous gas. The designer told reporters that “Julian Assange is the canary in the cage, he has been trapped by a big net, taken out of the sun and shoved in a cage.”
“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,” Westwood echoed during her protest.
The designer also claimed that the arrest was “a stitch-up” and emphasized “telling the truth is not a crime.”
Assange is currently in London’s Belmarsh Prison and is scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing in September as the US government urged for him to be brought back to America.
According to the BBC, Assange will face around 17 charges under “the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion” for publishing classified documents in 2010 and 2011 if gets extradited to America.
Good morning from me and also from Vivienne Westwood, who just suspended herself inside a giant bird cage outside the Old Bailey and pretended to be a canary in a coalmine to protest the extradition of Julian Assange 🐥 pic.twitter.com/6GxWfB97cS
— Elizabeth Paton (@LizziePaton) July 21, 2020
Vivienne Westwood’s just been winched into the air in a giant cage outside the Old Bailey. She’s protesting against Julien Assange’s extradition hearings, which start up again in Sept.
— Rachael Venables (@rachaelvenables) July 21, 2020
“I am Julien Assange. I am the canary in the cage!” @LBC pic.twitter.com/uS1OjZGSJj
[via Dazed, cover image via John Gomez / Shutterstock.com]
Also check out these recent news