New Australian PM Indicates He Would Ask US to Drop Charges Against WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange

Free speech activists have been critical of the previous Australian government for not doing enough to secure the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen. While the new Australian PM voiced support for Assange’s release while in opposition, he has adopted a more cautious stance on the issue since his election win.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated that he would intervene with the US in order to have the charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dropped.

"My position is not that all foreign affairs is done with a loud-haler," Albanese stated on Tuesday, when asked at a press conference about his “position” on Assange and whether he would take up the matter with the Biden administration.

In 2010, the WikiLeaks founder published thousands of classified US military and diplomatic documents relating to possible war crimes committed by the American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US has indicted him on 18 counts, which could entail a prison sentence of 175 years should Assange be extradited to the US.

The new Australian PM has had wide-ranging consultations with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ summit in Tokyo last week. Separately, Albanese has also had a phone call with British PM Boris Johnson. It is unclear if Assange’s release was discussed in any of these interactions.

While in opposition, Albanese had argued in favour of Assange’s release. "Enough is enough," Albanese said last February, while attending a meeting of lawmakers of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

"I don't have sympathy for many of his (Assange) actions but essentially I can't see what is served by keeping him incarcerated,” the new Australian PM had said back then.

Backers of Assange protested at Albanese’ residence on 26 May as they sought to remind the new Australian PM about his position on Assange.

Meanwhile, the ‘Defend Assange Campaign’, an online and offline campaign run by the WikiLeaks’ founder’s legal team, have also recalled a speech Albanese delivered in 2020.

Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese: "Journalism is not a crime, it's essential to preserving our democracy" [2020] #QUAD @AlboMP

Amnesty International: 'The proceedings against Julian Assange jeopardize journalism that is crucial to democracy' @amnesty pic.twitter.com/S8DekG4pit

— Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) May 23, 2022

The Australian Prime Minister’s remarks on Tuesday came as UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is all set to take a final call on whether to extradite the WikiLeaks whistle-blower to the US.

On 20 April, a Westminster court formally approved the extradition of Assange to the US. On 17 May, Assange’s wife Stella Morris submitted a plea to Patel to stop the extradition.

“Priti Patel has my husband’s life in her hands,” Morris said during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) the same day.

Morris described Assange’s ongoing trial as a “flagrant abuse of the legal system” done at the behest of the US.

“He is being persecuted because he exposed the United States committing war crimes that have not been punished. And it is basically the revenge of the United States,” Morris stated.

Assange spent around seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after being granted political asylum by the South American nation. He was dragged out of the mission by British police in 2019 after his asylum status was revoked.

Assange has been in Belmarsh, a high-security prison in London, since October 2020, having served an 11-month jail sentence.