Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, commented on US President Joe Biden’s comment that they were considering dropping the prosecution of Australian journalist Julian Assange. Mr Assange remains incarcerated in Belmarsh Prison in the UK awaiting extradition to the US to face charges for material published in 2010 that revealed shocking evidence of US misconduct.
“The comment from President Joe Biden that they were considering the call from the Australian Government to drop the prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is encouraging,” Mr Wilkie said.
“In February, the Australian House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of my motion calling on the United Kingdom and United States governments to bring this matter to an end and to allow Mr Assange to return home. The vote, which was supported by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Cabinet, marked an unprecedented show of political support for Mr Assange and echoes the sentiment in the Australian community that enough is enough. Obviously these signals are resonating in the White House and people can get some comfort that the US Government is listening to the Australian Government.
“This matter has always been deeply political. Mr Assange is an award-winning Australian journalist who is being punished and pursued by the US for simply doing his job and telling the truth. The man should be lauded as a hero, not rotting away in a cell. It’s time for the US to demonstrate the strong bi-lateral relationship with Australia and drop the prosecution of Mr Assange.”