Australian lawmakers head to US to lobby against extradition of WikiLeaks’ Assange

CANBERRA, Australia — A group of Australian lawmakers said Tuesday they would travel to Washington this month to lobby the United States to abandon its efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The delegation includes former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and five other lawmakers from across the political spectrum. Their trip is timed to draw attention to the issue ahead of a planned visit to the White House in late October by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Independent lawmaker and delegation member Monique Ryan told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. they represented a large group of lawmakers who feel “really, really strongly about the importance of securing Mr. Assange’s freedom.”

Ryan said Assange was in poor health, adding to the urgency of the matter.

Assange, an Australian citizen, has spent the past four years in Britain’s Belmarsh prison fighting extradition to the United States. He has been accused of espionage for publishing classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks. If found guilty, he faces up to 175 years in prison.

The move by Australian lawmakers is the latest in a series of international moves to raise questions about extradition. Pope Francis met with Assange’s wife Stella in June, which she said was proof of his continued support for the family’s plight. In May, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the lack of a concerted effort to free Assange.

Before being jailed, Assange took asylum for seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in an attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges. Sweden dropped that study in 2019 because so much time had passed.

Greg Barns, a human rights lawyer and Assange campaign adviser, said most Australians believed the case should come to an end.

“Julian should be immediately reunited with his wife and children,” Barns said. “That can only happen if the US Department of Justice drops its extradition bid immediately.”

The delegation plans to meet with members of the House and Senate, as well as the Department of State and the Department of Justice. They will also meet with organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton said even Australians who did not support Assange’s actions believed he had suffered enough and should be freed.

U.S. prosecutors allege Assange helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.