London, August 12 (RHC)-- Julian Assange’s mother has accused the U.S. and UK governments of “slowly killing" the WikiLeaks founder because he revealed war crimes and corruption.   “My son, Julian Assange, is being slowly, cruelly & unlawfully assassinated by the U.S. and UK Governments, for multi-award winning journalism revealing war crimes & corruption!” she wrote.

She also tweeted a link to a report from a United Nations expert who called for a stop to the “collective persecution” of the whistleblower.  

Christine Assange said that her son is currently incarcerated in Belmarsh Prison after being arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in April.  His visitors have repeatedly raised concerns about his health.  As recently as last Wednesday, journalist John Pilger said his condition was “deteriorating” and that he was being treated “worse than a murderer.”

The 48-year-old is facing extradition to the United States, where he is charged with possession and dissemination of classified information.  If found guilty, he could receive up to 175 years in prison.

Washington has tried to get its hands on Julian Assange for nearly a decade after WikiLeaks published the leaked ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which shows U.S. military forces attacking journalists and civilians in Iraq in July 2007.