During a state visit to the US: the Australian Prime Minister supports Julian Assange

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During informal conversations this week, he directly addressed US President Joe Biden’s concerns about the 52-year-old Australian, who has spent four and a half years in a London prison. The head of government confirmed this to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Friday.

“Enough is enough, I have made that clear and that it is time to bring this matter to a successful conclusion,” the newspaper quoted Albanese as saying. He declined to comment on the immediate content of the conversations and Biden’s response.

Assange has been in a British prison since April 2019. Before that, he was held in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years to avoid arrest and extradition to the US. The United States accuses Assange of stealing and publishing classified material from military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, together with American whistleblower Chelsea Manning, endangering the lives of informants. If extradited, he could face up to 175 years in prison.

Supporters, on the other hand, see Assange as a courageous journalist who exposed war crimes. The government in London has agreed to the extradition. But the legal wrangling is not over yet. Albanese has repeatedly called for Assange’s release since taking office last year.

Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton said he was “worried” about him after a recent visit to prison. “He’s still fighting, he’s hanging in there, despite everything he’s been through and despite the opponent he’s up against,” Shipton said. “But he is not the same man as he was a year ago.” The capture took its toll.

(SDA)

Source: Blick