Australian MPs head to US to lobby against efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder Assange

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.

Delegation of Australian politicians to pressure US to end pursuit of Julian Assange
Assange has been detained in Britain’s Belmarsh Prison for the last four years amid US extradition efforts

https://www.irishtimes.com/world/australia/2023/09/05/delegation-of-australian-politicians-to-pressure-us-to-end-pursuit-of-julian-assange/

Barnaby Joyce and other members of a delegation set to try secure the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP
Tue Sep 5 2023 - 09:47

A multiparty delegation of six Australian politicians will travel to the United States to push for an end to the pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The US has pushed to extradite Julian Assange, who is an Australian citizen, after his website WikiLeaks published thousands of US documents in 2010, which included a cache of military and diplomatic files, some of which were classified.

Mr Assange has been detained in Britain’s Belmarsh Prison for the last four years and is in the midst of appealing the United Kingdom’s decision to agree to US extradition.

The cross-party group, including former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, revealed their intention to the press in Canberra on Tuesday.