The Guardian
Australian government backbenchers hope the new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will stay “true to his values” and press the US to drop the case against Julian Assange.
Albanese has previously expressed concern about the US government’s efforts to try the WikiLeaks cofounder in connection with the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as well as diplomatic cables.
Albanese said in December 2021 he did “not see what purpose is served by the ongoing pursuit of Mr Assange” and that “enough is enough”.
But Albanese has kept his cards close to his chest since being sworn in as prime minister.
When asked this week whether he would encourage the US to drop the charges against the Australian citizen, the Labor leader said: “My position is that not all foreign affairs is best done with the loudhailer.”
Labor MP Julian Hill, an active member of the cross-party Australian parliamentary group pushing for Assange’s release, said he was hopeful Albanese would pursue the matter.
“Albo is a man of integrity and values and I’m confident, of course, that he will be true to his values,” Hill told Guardian Australia.
“There are members of the Labor caucus who have had an active involvement in the Assange group based on these critical principles – press freedom and fighting against the chilling effect on the media that this persecution would have – and would hope that our government could achieve an outcome.”
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