Australian Prime Minister Albanese steps in for Assange: He wants him to return to Australia
Australian Prime Minister Albanese has called for Julian Assange to return to Australia, of which he is a citizen, saying, "Enough is enough."
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12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that it is time for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is being held in the UK, to return to Australia, where he is a citizen.
Speaking to Radio Sydney in the US, Albanese stated that Assange, whose appeal hearing regarding his extradition to the US began yesterday at the High Court in the UK, should now return to Australia.
Explaining that he has conveyed his thoughts on the matter to the highest authorities in the US and the UK, Albanese reacted to the legal process against Assange, saying, "I have stated it privately, just as I have done publicly. Enough is enough, it is time for Julian Assange to come home."
Prime Minister Albanese added that he is in regular contact with Assange's legal team to determine a strategy for a favorable outcome to the case. On the other hand, he emphasized that as a government, they are communicating with both countries through diplomatic channels and are striving to reach a conclusion.
The Australian Parliament passed a resolution last week calling for Assange, an Australian citizen, to be allowed to return to his country.
ASSANGE'S CASE
WikiLeaks, founded by Assange, published 251,000 classified documents on October 28, 2010, which also provided evidence of crimes committed by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had taken refuge in June 2012, on April 11, 2019, and was arrested for "violating bail conditions" and sent to Belmarsh Prison in London. The court ruled that Assange, who was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison, should remain in custody after completing his sentence within the framework of the extradition request. The UK High Court decided on December 10, 2021, that Assange could be extradited to the US.
Following the Westminster Magistrates' Court's ruling for extradition on April 20, 2022, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel signed the order for Assange's extradition to the US on June 17, 2022.
Assange's lawyers filed an appeal against the decision to the High Court on July 1, 2022. The appeal hearing at the High Court began yesterday.