Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government is standing firm against the United States over the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the 2022 elections that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a London prison fighting extradition.

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back against the Australian position during a visit Saturday, saying Assange was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified U.S. documents more than a decade ago.

    He told reporters that Blinken’s public comments echoed points made by President Joe Biden’s administration during private discussions with Australian government officials.

    American prosecutors allege he helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

    Before that, he spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault.

    Last week, Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, called for Australia to increase pressure on the United States.

    I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • A1kmm@lemmy.amxl.comEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    I guess the US wants to deter journalism that they don’t like. An even more apt comparison is Assange vs Donald Trump - Trump allegedly tried to overturn democracy in the US from a position of trust, inciting events that killed people, and stole classified documents for his own private benefit. Assange just worked with whistleblowers as a journalist to try to serve the public interest. And yet Assange is locked up ahead of the US wanting to try him, as he has been for years now, and Trump is free.

  • DogMuffinsEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Assange, whose freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with the Biden administration, was discussed in annual bilateral meetings Brisbane, Australia, last week between Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

    Is it though?

    Any sovereign nation will just ignore this type of pressure just on principle.

    I dislike Assange immensely, I also despise the way whistle-blowers are hunted down, but the USA has a massive hard on for this guy so they’re not just gonna give up.