The wife of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has welcomed US President Joe Biden’s comments about considering an end to criminal prosecution. This is a “good sign,” Stella Assange told the British broadcaster BBC. “It looks like things could be moving in a good direction.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the statements were encouraging.
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Albanese had supported a motion in the Australian Parliament calling for an end to the prosecution of Australian citizen Assange. This should allow him to return to his family in Australia. When asked at the White House on Wednesday, Biden said his government was examining the request.
The legal tug-of-war surrounding Assange and his extradition to the USA has preoccupied the world for years. The US wants to prosecute the Australian for publishing secret documents and violating anti-espionage laws. If found guilty, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison in the USA.
Is Assange facing the death penalty in the USA?
Most recently, at the end of March, a court in London postponed a decision on whether Assange could appeal one last time. It set a deadline for U.S. government lawyers to prove that Assange would be protected by free speech laws if tried in the U.S. and that he would not face the death penalty. After considering the representations and statements, there will be another hearing on May 20th. Assange’s lawyers have already announced that if a decision is made against him before the European Court of Human Rights, they will take action against his extradition.
© Lea Dohle
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Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. He lived there for seven years until he was arrested by British police in 2019. He has been incarcerated in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison for five years.
Pressure on President Biden
Stella Assange went on to say that her husband was doing very poorly. In the past, she had repeatedly warned of her husband’s deteriorating health in prison, which, in her opinion, could lead to Julian Assange’s death.
Stella Assange said she hopes that Biden will drop the allegations, as human rights and press freedom organizations have demanded. Internationally and in the USA, pressure has recently increased on Biden to repeal the charges that were brought under his predecessor Donald Trump.
The wife of imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has welcomed US President Joe Biden’s comments about considering an end to criminal prosecution. This is a “good sign,” Stella Assange told the British broadcaster BBC. “It looks like things could be moving in a good direction.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the statements were encouraging.
Albanese had supported a motion in the Australian Parliament calling for an end to the prosecution of Australian citizen Assange. This should allow him to return to his family in Australia. When asked at the White House on Wednesday, Biden said his government was examining the request.