Julian

Julian Assange remains persecuted by US President Joe Biden as the world watches. Heloise Vyas (SKY NEWS) reports:

A delegation of Australian politicians from across the board will travel to the United States in September to lobby against the extradition of Julian Assange from a London prison.

The contingent is set to visit Washington DC to meet with top US diplomats and urge the government to end its prosecution bid, following years of unsuccessful intervention attempts to free the WikiLeaks founder.

MPs spanning the political spectrum, including Barnaby Joyce from the National Party, Tony Zappia from Labor, Alex Antic from the Liberals, independent MP Monique Ryan and David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Walson from the Greens, will be part of the lobby group.

“Australians are united in their view that this matter must come to an end now,” Assange Campaign group’s legal advisor Greg Barns said in a media release.

THE FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE quotes Gabriel Shipton (Julian's brother), "The vast majority of Australians can't understand why the U.S. continues to act in a way that keeps Julian locked up in one of the worst prisons in the UK.  Even Australians who didn't support Julian's actions believe he has suffered enough and should be set free immediately."  His brother also Tweeted:

Here they go! Not a fan of the Avengers movies, but have a huge soft spot for these courageous Politicians who will travel to Washington DC this month to free Julian Assange! pic.twitter.com/5Ucx7ox43F

— Gabriel Shipton (@GabrielShipton) September 5, 2023

If Julian's going to be set free (and he should be), it's going to require pressure from the Australian government.  

Australian MPs ‘from hard Right to hard Left’ head to Washington
later this month to show broad based support for #Assange to be released, ahead of @AlboMP ‘s visit to the US in October. https://t.co/R2YZZLL7R8

— 💧Mary Kostakidis (@MaryKostakidis) September 4, 2023

Patrick Bell (Australia's ABC) explains, "The parliamentary delegation will include former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, Liberal senator Alex Antic, independent MP Monique Ryan, and Greens senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson."

AAP notes, "The delegation will meet with members of Congress and Senate, the US State Department and the Department of Justice. They will also meet with think tanks and organisations including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders."

Patrick Maynard (TRUTHOUT) writes:

Should he be deported from the U.K., Julian Assange, the Australian publisher of WikiLeaks, faces up to 175 years in a U.S. prison on charges related to his release of information that revealed U.S. war crimes and torture. His legal team has stated that they plan to appeal the extradition case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France, arguing that the British litigation process has been rife with malpractice.

However, experts say, there is little likelihood that Assange, who is currently being detained without British charges at London’s Belmarsh Prison pending extradition, will be allowed to physically attend any ECHR hearings in Strasbourg, which lies in France’s Alsace region.

“The U.K. authorities’ case against bail has always been that he is ‘a significant flight risk’ and a reminder of his seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy,” Tim Dawson of the International Federation of Journalists, a group opposing Assange’s detention, told Truthout. “I can’t see that they are going to allow anything similar to arise.”