Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reaffirmed his government’s unwavering stance against the United States regarding the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen currently fighting extradition from the UK on US espionage charges.
Since winning the 2022 elections, Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government has consistently argued that the US should halt its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a London prison fighting extradition.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed opposition to Australia’s position during a visit on Saturday, citing the “very serious criminal conduct” accusations against Assange for publishing a trove of classified US documents over a decade ago.
In response, Albanese stated on Tuesday, “This has gone on for too long. Enough is enough.”
He emphasized that Blinken’s public remarks echoed the points previously raised by President Joe Biden’s administration during private discussions with Australian government officials. The Prime Minister asserted that Australia would continue firmly expressing its views to the American government.
The case of Julian Assange has become a test of Australia’s leverage with the Biden administration. Discussions concerning Assange took place during annual bilateral meetings in Brisbane, Australia, between Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Wong remarked on Saturday that Australia wanted the charges against Assange to be “brought to a conclusion,” but the country remains ambiguous about whether the US should drop the prosecution or pursue a plea deal.
Assange is facing 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse related to WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic and military documents in 2010. US prosecutors allege that he assisted US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing classified diplomatic cables and military files, which were later published by WikiLeaks, potentially endangering lives.
Australia argues that there is a disconnect between the treatment of Assange and Manning by the US. While Manning’s 35-year sentence was commuted to seven years by then-US President Barack Obama, leading to her release in 2017, Assange has been held in high-security Belmarsh Prison since his 2019 arrest for skipping bail during a separate legal battle.
Prior to that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden for alleged rape and sexual assault, with Sweden eventually dropping the investigations in 2019 due to the passage of time.
Last week, Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, called on Australia to increase pressure on the United States, expressing concern about the impact on Australia’s standing in the alliance due to the ongoing situation.”
