Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reaffirmed his government’s firm stance against the United States regarding the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Assange, an Australian citizen, is currently fighting extradition from Britain on U.S. espionage charges.
Since winning the 2022 elections, Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government has consistently argued that the United States should cease its pursuit of Assange. Despite this, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back against the Australian position during a recent visit. Blinken stated that Assange was accused of very serious criminal conduct for publishing classified U.S. documents over a decade ago.
Albanese responded to Blinken’s comments, saying, This has gone on for too long. Enough is enough. He emphasized that the Australian government remains steadfast in its view and its representations to the American government.
Discussions regarding Assange took place during bilateral meetings between Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane. Wong expressed Australia’s desire for the charges against Assange to be resolved. However, Australia has not explicitly stated whether it believes the United States should drop the prosecution or negotiate 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. American prosecutors allege that he assisted U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing classified cables and military files. These documents were later published by WikiLeaks, putting lives at risk.
Australia has drawn attention to the differing treatment of Assange and Manning by the United States. Former U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, leading to her release in 2017.
Assange has been in high-security Belmarsh Prison since his arrest in 2019 for violating bail conditions during a separate legal battle. Prior to that, he sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault. However, Sweden dropped the investigations in 2019 due to the passage of time.
The ongoing debate surrounding Assange’s prosecution highlights the divergent views on his actions and the implications for press freedom. It remains to be seen how the Australian government’s firm stance against the United States will impact the resolution of this high-profile case.
