Aussie PM Voices Frustration Over Julian Assange Imprisonment, Calls for Release

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen in a police van, after he was arrested by British police, in London on April 11, 2019. (Henry Nicholls/Reuters)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has voiced his frustration over the incarceration of Julian Assange, saying that there is “nothing to be served” by the WikiLeaks founder’s ongoing imprisonment in the UK.

This follows recent statements released by Australia’s Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the International Federation of Journalists, and the European Federation of Journalists, who have all called for the release of Julian Assange.

The WikiLeaks founder has been in prison in the UK for the past four years and is fighting extradition to face 18 espionage-related charges in the United States.

Albanese told the ABC in London that he has made his position on the case very clear to the U.S. government.

“I continue to say in private what I said publicly as Labor leader and what I’ve said as Prime Minister, that enough is enough,” Albanese said on May 4, UK time.

“This needs to be brought to a conclusion.”

Albanese said Assange’s case needed to be looked at in the context of his time spent in custody and compared his case to that of Chelsea Manning. In 2013, Chelsea Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst, was charged with espionage for leaking secret military files to Wikileaks.

“When Australians look at the circumstances, look at the fact that a person who released the information is walking freely now having served some time in incarceration ... then they will see a disconnect there,” Albanese said.

“There is nothing to be served by his ongoing incarceration, and I am concerned about Mr Assange’s mental health.”

However, when asked whether he would discuss Assange’s case with U.S. President Joe Biden, who is due to visit Australia for the QUAD meeting later this month, he said he wouldn’t publicly state what he would discuss with the U.S. president.

“I know it’s frustrating. I share the frustration. I can’t do more than make very clear what my position is,” he said.

“It needs to be worked through; we’re working through diplomatic channels; we’re making very clear what our position is on Mr Assange’s case.”

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he agreed with the prime minister that the Assange case has been drawn out for too long.

“Of course, I’m concerned for him at an individual level. I think it’s gone on for too long, and I think that’s the fault of many people—including Mr Assange, to be honest,” Dutton told ABC Radio on May 5.

Media Organisations Say Assange Case ‘Most Dangerous Threat’ to Press Freedom

Australia’s media union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the International Federation of Journalists, and the European Federation of Journalists have released a statement calling for the release of Julian Assange.

The statement described his imprisonment as “the most dangerous threat to press freedom today.”

“We, the undersigned European unions and associations of journalists, join the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in calling on the US government to drop all charges against Julian Assange and allow him to return home to his wife and children,” according to an April 4 statement.

“We are gravely concerned about the impact of Assange’s continued detention on media freedom and the rights of all journalists globally. We urge European governments to actively work to secure Julian Assange’s release.

“To show our solidarity, we declare Julian Assange a full member, an honorary member or a free member of our organisations.”

This comes as protestors confronted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during question time at Global Press Freedom Day on May 3 over the release of Assange.

“We can’t use this day without calling for the freedom of Julian Assange,” one of the protestors said before being ushered off by security guards.

In April, 48 Australian parliamentarians from the government, opposition, and crossbench said extradition would set a “dangerous precedent” for freedom of the press and be “needlessly damaging” for the U.S. as a world leader in freedom of expression.

Albanese told the ABC that it was essential to balance free speech with national security.

“We do value freedom of expression, but we also have, in today’s uncertain world, legitimate concerns about our national security,” he said.

“I’m not going to sit here as someone who chairs our National Security Committee and say it’s fine if you publish all of the details about our National Security Committee deliberations because if you did that, Australian lives would be put in danger.

“There are real consequences for that … I’m a big supporter of freedom of the press, but with that also comes a responsibility to take into account the consequences of whether the information which is not available to the public, what the consequences would be if we had just a free for all.”

Assange has appealed to the UK High Court and the European Court of Human Rights to block his extradition.

In 2021, a British judge ruled Assange should not be extradited to the U.S. due to concerns for his mental health, but the decision was overturned on appeal.