WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange feared he was becoming “a hallucinating puddle on the floor” while held in solitary confinement, a psychiatrist told his extradition hearing yesterday.

Dr Nigel Blackwood also said that Mr Assange’s likely conditions of incarceration in the US “would impact on his mood state.”

He told the Old Bailey in London that he believed Mr Assange had a “recurrent depressive disorder” and said: “I think there is some risk of suicide but that risk has to be carefully managed at Belmarsh prison.

“The risk factors are modifiable and he engages with treatment available to manage that risk.”

The US is seeking Mr Assange’s extradition to face espionage charges that carry a sentence of up to 175 years.

Cross examined by Edward Fitzgerald QC, Dr Blackwood agreed that in May 2019 Mr Assange was moved into “healthcare” in Belmarsh – in fact a kind of solitary confinement.

He also accepted that the move was prompted by fears among prison staff about Mr Assange’s “low mood and struggle to control ideas of self-harm or suicide.”

While in healthcare Mr Assange was “observed” by prison staff nine times each day.  

Dr Blackwood agreed that this was effectively a “suicide watch.” He also confirmed that there were periods when Mr Assange called the Samaritans almost daily.

A second witness, Dr Sondra Crosby, told the court that she had medically examined Mr Assange on several occasions between 2017 and January 2020. 

“I have been alarmed at his physical and medical condition," She said.

“He has suffered sever psychological trauma and at times obsessively thinks about suicide.”

The hearing continues.