Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed dismay over the US’s continued efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange to Washington. He said that nothing is going to be achieved by keeping Assange imprisoned. Albanese made the comments in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC). His remarks are being seen as an attempt to increase pressure on the US to withdraw the charges against 51-year-old Assange.
Assange, fighting a legal battle against US extradition, has been lodged in Britain’s Belmarsh prison for the last four years. Prior to this, he had taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years. Albanese said Assange’s case would have to be considered from the point of view of the WikiLeaks founder’s “time spent (in the Ecuadorian embassy and a London prison)” if the allegations against him were proved to be true. Not more than the possible punishment to go.
The Australian Prime Minister said that I would just say that enough is enough. Nothing is going to be achieved by keeping them imprisoned. He said that I know it is very disappointing. I can feel the frustration too. I can’t do much other than explain my position. The US administration is of course well aware of the Australian government’s position. In the US, Assange is facing 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse. The charges stem from the massive publication of classified US military documents by WikiLeaks in 2010.
Albanese said, that I am worried about Assange’s mental state. A UK district court has turned down a request for Assange to be extradited to the US on the grounds that he could commit suicide if kept in harsh US prison conditions. However, this decision was later overturned, but in view of this, I am worried about Assange.
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