Australian politicians advocate for the release of WikiLeaks' creator, Julian Assange

Australia's parliament has passed a motion urging the United States and United Kingdom to release Julian Assange, as he faces a crucial legal hearing. Assange, an Australian citizen, is currently being held in London's Belmarsh Prison and is wanted in the US on espionage charges. The motion, which was supported by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, received a vote of 86-42 in favor of allowing Assange to return home. Albanese has been pushing for the Assange case to reach a conclusion since taking office in 2022, even raising the matter with US President Joe Biden during a state visit. Australian MPs recently travelled to Washington to lobby US lawmakers for Assange's freedom. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is wanted for publishing classified documents in 2010 and 2011. He argues that the case against him is politically motivated and claims he is at risk of taking his own life if extradited to the US. In 2021, a UK judge blocked his extradition due to concerns about his mental health, but the decision was reversed by the High Court in 2022. The US extradition request was approved, leading to Assange's renewed legal appeal. Assange's family has been calling on the Australian government to do more to secure his release, expressing concerns about him potentially disappearing into the US justice system for a long time if handed over. Australia's Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has raised the matter with his US counterpart, stating that the government's position on Assange remains unchanged and that the case needs to be brought to an end. Assange has been in Belmarsh Prison since 2019, after spending seven years seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.