April 11, 2024
2 mins read

Biden considers Australia’s request to drop Assange case

The 52-year-old is currently in Britain awaiting extradition to the US. It has been five years since he was incarcerated in the Belmarsh prison…reports Asian Lite News

The US is “considering” Australia’s request to drop its persecution push against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, said President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Assange is wanted in the US on criminal charges over the release of confidential US military and diplomatic records in 2010. He has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse.

The 52-year-old is currently in Britain awaiting extradition to the US. It has been five years since he was incarcerated in the Belmarsh prison.

If convicted, he could face up to 175 years in prison.

He was supposed to be extradited in March, but it was put on hold after the UK High Court said the US must assure he would not face the death penalty.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been supportive of Assange’s release and said the issue had been raised with the US government at all levels. He said the comment from Biden was “encouraging.”

“I believe this must be brought to a conclusion and that Mr Assange has already paid a significant price, and enough is enough. There’s nothing to be gained by Mr Assange’s continued incarceration, in my very strong view. And I’ve put that as the view of the Australian government,” Albanese said.

Australia argues there are discrepancies between the treatment of Assange and US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was convicted of stealing diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published.

Manning’s 35-year sentence was commuted to seven years by former US President Barack Obama, and she was released in 2017.

One of Assange’s lawyers, Barry Pollack, said also Biden’s remarks were encouraging.

Supporters of Assange say he is being persecuted as his work revealed US wrongdoing, especially in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They argue he is an anti-establishment journalist, who remains protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Several rights groups and countries such as Germany, Mexico and Brazil have also opposed his extradition to the US.

ALSO READ: UK, US and Australia say Japan could join Aukus pact

Previous Story

UK Ministers considering banning sale of smartphones to under-16s

Next Story

Pressures mount on German policymakers to cut aid to Israel

Latest from -Top News

Pak Army Chief Targets India Again

This is not the first time that Munir has indulged in loose talk, exhibiting conduct unbecoming an officer….reports Asian Lite News Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on

Relief for Students: US Visa Cancellations Paused

More than 1,500 student visas have been cancelled so far…reports Asian Lite News The United States on Friday abruptly paused the cancellation of student visas issued to international students, according to reports.

Yunus Must Be Treated Like Hasina, Warn Islamists

Islamist group made these warnings to the interim government, terming the women’s reform body proposals as “anti-Islamic…reports Asian Lite News The radical Islamist group in Bangladesh, Hefazat-e-Islam, has issued a threat, stating

UN: Bring Pahalgam Terrorists to Justice

The members of the Security Council “stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable..reports Asian Lite News The Security Council has “condemned in the strongest terms” the Pahalgam terrorist
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Covid-19: US urges citizens to reconsider travel to India

A total of 10,603,034 child Covid-19 cases had been reported

Trump Spares Starmer 

US President says the UK has been “out of line”