The Australian House of Representatives has increased pressure on the United States and Britain to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In a motion passed on Wednesday, lawmakers called for the Australian citizen to be allowed to return to his home country. The move comes just ahead of Assange's appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges, which is set to take place in Britain's High Court of Justice.
The motion, brought forward by independent lawmaker Andrew Wilkie, received support from 86 lawmakers including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. It called for the United States and Britain to bring the matter to a close so that Assange can reunite with his family in Australia. However, 42 lawmakers, mainly from the opposition party, opposed the motion and proposed amendments that were ultimately unsuccessful.
Leaders from both the government and the opposition have publicly expressed their belief that the United States' pursuit of Assange has gone on for too long. Assange has been held in London's high-security Belmarsh Prison since 2019 after being arrested 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 on allegations of rape and sexual assault. The rape investigation was dropped in 2019 due to the significant passage of time.
Assange's brother, Gabriel Shipton, welcomed the vote by lawmakers and raised concerns about the potential extradition of his brother to the United States. He expressed worries that if extradited, Assange would be cut off from his family and face harsh conditions within the American prison system. Shipton stressed that the parliamentary support is crucial at this moment and urged the government to strongly advocate for a political solution to bring Assange home.
While Wilkie, the author of the motion, argues that extradition should be dropped altogether, the Albanese government has taken a more cautious approach. They have called for the charges to be 'brought to a conclusion,' leaving room for a potential plea deal that could result in Assange spending no further time in custody.
The case of Julian Assange is seen as a test of Albanese's influence with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken previously pushed back against the Australian government's stance, stating that Assange faces serious criminal charges for publishing classified U.S. documents over a decade ago.
Senior opposition lawmaker Dan Tehan noted that the motion does not reflect his party's desire for a more expedited prosecution. He emphasized the need for justice to prevail within a reasonable timeframe while acknowledging that leaking national security secrets should not be condoned.
Assange currently faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse in relation to WikiLeaks' publication of classified diplomatic and military documents. American prosecutors allege that he assisted U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing classified materials, which were later published by WikiLeaks and put lives at risk.
Australia has raised concerns about the disparity in treatment between Assange and Manning. Former U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning's sentence from 35 years to seven years, leading to her release in 2017. The Australian government argues that there needs to be consistency in addressing the charges against both individuals.
As the extradition hearing approaches, the motion passed by the Australian House of Representatives adds to the growing international pressure on the United States and Britain to resolve the prosecution of Julian Assange. The outcome of the appeal and the subsequent actions taken by governments involved will have significant implications for the future of Assange and the broader issues related to journalism, whistleblowing, and national security.
