Champagne and cake in the shadow of a maximum security prison: Much at the wedding of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and his partner Stella Moris seemed like a normal marriage.
A tiered wedding cake topped with roses and a small sculpture of the couple stood under a gazebo decorated with garlands of flowers.
Festively dressed guests danced to music in the sunshine.
But nothing could hide the overwhelming presence of the adjacent prison, surrounded by a concrete wall as high as a house, which served as the wedding location for Assange, who had been imprisoned for around three years.
According to supporters, only four guests and two witnesses were allowed to attend the civil ceremony at the complex.
According to a statement, Assange wanted to wear a kilt that was intended to commemorate his family's Scottish origins.
Assange and Moris were only allowed to be together for a short time, as the German Press Agency learned from Wikileaks circles.
relationship with many obstacles
Dozens of people celebrated outside London's maximum security prison as Julian Assange and his partner were to be married.
At noon, the bride appeared in a silver-colored gown by designer Vivienne Westwood, accompanied by a small circle of relatives.
With a floor-length veil over her head, she disappeared behind the walls to say yes to her fiancé.
The couple met during Assange's years of embassy asylum at the Ecuadorian mission in London between 2012 and 2019 and have two children together.
However, the family has never been able to enjoy everyday life together.
Despite the spring sunshine, a heavy cloud hung over the couple's happy day: the Australian-born's appeal against extradition to the United States was only recently rejected by the Supreme Court.
The UK Supreme Court dismissed the appeal as inadmissible.
The decision now rests with Home Secretary Priti Patel.
"It is now more important than ever to emphasize that this is a political case," said the editor-in-chief of the disclosure platform, Kristinn Hrafnsson, the German Press Agency before the wedding.
Nevertheless, the litigation continues.
There is the possibility of requesting another appeal on the basis of other reasons, since the previous one was only about Assange's health.
However, it is unclear whether such a procedure will be permitted.
The US judiciary wants to put Assange on trial for allegations of espionage.
The 50-year-old faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted.
He is accused of having stolen and published secret material from US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan together with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thereby endangering the lives of US informants.
His supporters, on the other hand, see him as an investigative journalist who has brought war crimes to light and who is now to be made an example of.