By Elishya Perera
SYDNEY, Australia (CU)_The Australian government’s Coalition backbench and the opposition Labour party is calling on the government to press the United States to end the pursuit of Julian Assange, after a British court ruled that the WikiLeaks co-founder could not be extradited to the US.
As President Donald Trump’s administration has signalled its plans to appeal this ruling, several Assange supporters, including Coalition backbencher George Christensen and South Australian independent senator Rex Patrick, are of the view that a presidential pardon from Trump is the best way to end the pursuit of the Australian editor, publisher, and activist.
The co-chairs of the “Bring Julian Assange Home” Australian parliamentary friendship group, Christensen and MP Andrew Wilkie, said the group welcomed the British court’s ruling, adding that Only a presidential pardon can ensure that there is no further action against Assange.
“I also call on President Trump and President-elect [Joe] Biden, to let this be the end of the matter,” Wilkie said.
The Labour party, on the other hand, has also pressed the Australian government to “do what it can to […] encourage the US government to bring this matter to a close”, although it did not specifically call for a pardon.
Mark Dreyfus, member of the opposition, claimed that the matter “has dragged on for long enough”. “While the US has the right to appeal the court’s decision, we call on the Morrison government to do what it can to draw a line under this matter and encourage the US government to bring this matter to a close,” he noted.
The British court on Monday (Jan 4) ruled out Assange’s extradition to the US to face charges of espionage and of hacking government computers, on the basis that “it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States”, as he was at risk of taking his own life.
Meanwhile, participating in two interviews with radio hosts on Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison noted that the Australian government is not party to the legal proceedings and pointed out that the British court’s decision was subject to appeal.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister added that Assange, like any other Australian, would continue to receive consular assistance from the Australian government.
“But, you know, assuming that if that all turns out [in his favour], then he’s like any other Australian. He’d be free to return home if he wished,” PM Morrison said.
The 49-year-old is accused of 18 offences in relation to WikiLeaks’s publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents as well as diplomatic cables about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in 2010 and 2011, which the US says put lives at risk.
