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Australian lawmakers press US envoy for Julian Assange release
Australian lawmakers have met United States Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, urging her to help drop the pending extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and allow him to return to Australia.
The "Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group" said on Tuesday it informed Kennedy of "the widespread concern in Australia" about the continued detention of Assange, an Australian citizen.
The meeting comes before US President Joe Biden's scheduled visit to Australia this month for the Quad leaders' summit.
"There are a range of views about Assange in the Australian community and the members of the Parliamentary Group reflect that diversity of views. But what is not in dispute in the Group is that Mr Assange is being treated unjustly," the legislators said in a statement after meeting Kennedy in the capital, Canberra.
Assange is battling extradition from the United Kingdom to the US where he is wanted on criminal charges over the release of confidential military records and diplomatic cables in 2010. Washington says the release of the documents had put lives in danger.
Previously:
April 2023: No NGO Has Been Allowed to See Julian Assange Since Four Years Ago
December 2022: Biden Faces Growing Pressure to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange
August 2022: Assange Lawyers Sue CIA for Spying on Them
June 2022: Julian Assange's Extradition to the US Approved by UK Home Secretary
(Score: 5, Touché) by Mykl on Thursday May 11 2023, @10:52PM (1 child)
Agreed. Tin-pot dictators have been using Assange, Gitmo, Extraordinary Rendition and other similar horrors to demonstrate why the US is in no position to lecture them on human rights. They're absolutely right too - the US has a terrible track record on this sort of stuff.
I was furious when the then-Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, rolled over and asked George W Bush to rub his belly when Assange was first being pursued. It was one of the several things that, I believe, ultimately led to him being voted out and his party losing office. The Australian public in general have been very supportive of Assange - unfortunately the same could not be said of our government until quite recently. Sweden and the UK need to hang their heads in shame for their collaboration in this disgrace too.
There was a chance for a while that Trump was going to let him off because Hillary Clinton reportedly wanted Assange dead. While Trump himself is unlikely to have cared about Assange at all and only wanted to point score against his opponent, I would still have taken the win. Sadly, one of the lizard people must've gotten into his ear (either that or he got distracted by something shiny).
The fact that the actual leaker of the documents is already walking around a free person says volumes about how serious the US really feels the leak was. This is more about punishing the person who embarrassed them. Oh, and being dicks just because they can.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Dale on Friday May 12 2023, @04:44PM
The real crime wasn't the leak. The real crime was challenging the ego and authority. Assange not only challenged it, he continued to challenge and defy it. That is why they will never stop. I agree it is the example that our adversaries point to and they are correct in doing so. Assange is certainly an egostical ass, but he continues to make the US the same with their continued pursuit of him.