Joe Biden considering Australia’s request to drop prosecution

Washington: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the news that US President Joe Biden says he is considering a request to drop the decade-long US push to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

For years, Australia has called on the US to drop its prosecution against Assange, an Australian citizen who has fought US extradition efforts from prison in the UK. Asked about the request on Thursday (AEST), as he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for an official visit, Biden said, “We’re considering it”.

Albanese was asked about the request during an interview with ABC television, one of several interviews he has conducted on Thursday morning.

“This is an encouraging comment from President Biden,” Albanese said, adding Australia had consistently lobbied for the US government to drop its pursuit. “Enough is enough, there’s nothing to be gained by Mr Assange’s continued incarceration,” he said.

In October last year, Albanese raised the plight of Assange directly with Biden while on a state visit to Washing DC.

Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for defence industry who is currently in the US for AUKUS talks, told the ABC AM program: “The Australian government from Prime Minister Albanese down have been very clear that we think the Assange matter needs to be brought to a close we think has been going on for too long and we’ve communicated that to both the United States and UK government so I welcome President Biden’s comment”.

Assange has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classified US documents almost 15 years ago. American prosecutors allege that Assange, 52, encouraged and helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published, putting lives at risk.

Australia argues there is a disconnect between the US treatment of Assange and Manning. Then-president Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017.