Australian lawmakers press US envoy for Julian Assange release
Assange’s supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who fell victim to denouncing US wrongdoings.
Australian lawmakers have met with US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and urged her to drop the extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and allow him to return to Australia.
The Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group said on Tuesday it briefed Kennedy on “the widespread concern in Australia” about the continued detention of Assange, an Australian citizen.
The meeting comes ahead of US President Joe Biden’s scheduled visit to Australia this month for the Quad leaders’ summit.
“There are different views of Assange in the Australian community and the members of the parliamentary group reflect that diversity of views. But what is not up for debate within the Group is that Mr Assange is being treated unjustly,” the lawmakers said in a statement following a meeting with Kennedy in the capital Canberra.
Assange is fighting extradition from the UK to the US, where he is wanted on criminal charges for declassifying confidential military files and diplomatic cables in 2010. Washington says the release of the documents has put lives at risk.
Assange’s supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has fallen victim to denouncing US abuses, including in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The US embassy in Australia confirmed the meeting in a tweet, but did not share any further details.
‘Millions of Australians’
Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, said he considered the meeting an “important acknowledgment” from the US government that “Julian’s freedom matters to millions of Australians”.
“After [Prime Minister Anthony Albanese] expressed her frustration with the Biden administration, this is now a test for Ambassador Kennedy to see if she can move Washington on this issue,” said Shipton.
Albanian, who advocated for Assange’s release, expressed frustration last week that he had not yet found a diplomatic solution to the issue.
Support for Assange among US policymakers remains low. Only a few members of Congress have come forward in support of the demand that charges against him be dropped.
If Assange is extradited, he faces a prison sentence of up to 175 years in a maximum security prison.