Australians adopt a vote that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, be freed

The Australian House of Representatives has approved a resolution calling on the US and UK to drop their legal actions against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Australian citizen Julian Assange is the subject of a resolution made by independent politician Andrew Wilkie that demands his repatriation to his own country. 42 parliamentarians voted against the measure, while 86 members supported it, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The administration and the opposition have both said that they think the US’s search for Assange has dragged on for too long.Assange is now arguing against his extradition to the US on espionage allegations. He has been detained in London’s Belmarsh Prison since his arrest in 2019.

at order to avoid being extradited to Sweden, he had previously spent seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. However, the rape case against him was closed in 2019.

Gabriel Shipton, the brother of Julian Assange, thanked the parliamentarians for their decision and said that his brother may be extradited to the United States the next week. According to Shipton, the Parliamentary decision is significant and provides the government the authority to vigorously push for a diplomatic settlement that would allow Assange to return home.

Wilkie contends that there should be no further extradition. But the rhetoric used by the Albanese administration has been more circumspect, leaving open the prospect of a plea agreement that might see Assange released from detention altogether.

The circumstances surrounding Assange are seen as a test of Albanese’s power inside the US government. Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has already expressed disagreement with Albanese’s stance, claiming that Assange faces significant criminal charges.
Dan Tehan, a legislator from the opposition, voiced his displeasure with the proposal, claiming that it did not support his party’s demands for a swifter prosecution. Tehan underlined how crucial it is that justice be served promptly and that Assange has his day in court.

Because to the release of sensitive material by WikiLeaks, Assange is being prosecuted on seventeen counts of espionage and one count of computer abuse. According to US claims, he helped Chelsea Manning pilfer sensitive military and diplomatic communications.The fact that former US President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s sentence has drawn attention from Australia on the unequal treatment of Assange and Manning. Australia feels that Assange’s case should be handled similarly.