In an interview with ABC News, Albanese expressed his disappointment at the US’ insistence on demanding Assange’s extradition.
Albanese said that Assange’s detention period should also be examined in terms of whether he exceeded the sentence that he could receive in case of conviction, “I say enough is enough. Assange’s ongoing detention is of no use.” he said.
Albanese said he could not do more than openly state what his position is. “The US administration is certainly very aware of the position of the Australian government. I know this is frustrating and I share your disappointment.” used the phrases.
Albanese, who stated that he defended Assange in his previous meetings with Biden administration officials, said, “The way diplomacy works is not to predict the meetings you will have with the leaders of other nations.” He emphasized that he would approach the issue diplomatically in order to reach a conclusion.
Albanese, who said that he did not want to enter into a discussion about whether the allegations against Assange were true or false, drew attention to the British court’s overturning the extradition decision on the grounds that “Assange is likely to commit suicide if he is kept in harsh conditions in US prisons”.
Albanese added that he was concerned about Assange’s mental health.
Assange’s lawsuit
WikiLeaks, founded by Assange, released 251,000 secret documents on October 28, 2010, proving the crimes committed by the USA in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, El Pais and The New York Times also presented these documents to the public under the name “Cablegate”.
Assange was taken into custody on 11 April 2019 from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had taken refuge in June 2012, and was arrested for “violating the conditions of release on bail” and placed in the Belmarsh Prison in London.
The court decided that Assange, who was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison, would remain in detention after completing his sentence within the framework of his extradition request.
After the hearings, on January 4, 2021, the US extradition request was denied, arguing that Assange was at “real risk” because of the high risk of suicide and the fact that he was subject to special administrative measures in a US prison, especially because the intelligence community was hostile to him.
The United States objected to the decision, promising that the founder of WikiLeaks would not be held in maximum security prisons and that he could serve his sentence in Australia.
On December 10, 2021, the Supreme Court found the guarantees given sufficient and overturned the lower court’s decision and ruled that Assange could be extradited to the United States.
Thereupon, Assange’s defense team applied to the Supreme Court for permission to take the case to the Supreme Court, but the application was rejected on March 14, 2022.
After the Westminster Magistrate’s Court ordered extradition on 20 April 2022, then Interior Minister Priti Patel signed the order to extradite Assange to the USA on 17 June.
Assange’s lawyers also filed an appeal to the Supreme Court on 1 July.