Assange supporters protesting for Julian’s freedom. Source: Manon Levet, Wikimedia Commons
Supporters of Julian Assange pleaded to Australia’s senior ministers ahead of a meeting with US officials.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with the US secretary of state and defence secretary in Brisbane on Friday, with further meetings taking place over the rest of the weekend.
Gabriel Shipton, Julian Assange’s brother, said that the talks were one of the last in-person meetings between the leaders before Assange’s extradition to the US.
“Julian is inches away from extradition to the USA,” Shipton said in a statement.
“The meeting between the secretary of state and the prime minister could be the last chance to put a stop to Julian’s nightmare.”
Julian Assange has been imprisoned in London since 2019, after his 2010 website WikiLeaks exposed the top-secret atrocities of the US military, including the infamous ‘collateral murder video’, showing innocent people being gunned down by a US military helicopter in Baghdad.
Anthony Albanese has previously mentioned Assange’s dire situation with US president Joe Biden, but Shipton said the case needed to be brought up again at the latest talks.
“Each day the US administration ignores the Australian public on Julian’s freedom it becomes clearer and clearer Australia’s true standing in the alliance,” Shipton said.
Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia, said she “understood” the concerns raised by Assange’s supporters.
“For Julian Assange, it means a lot that he has this kind of support, but we’re just going to have to see what happens,” she told ABC Radio.
