After the London High Court ruled on Friday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, Australian MPS are urging and pressuring their Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene in the case of the Australian citizen.
The London court overruled the earlier lower court’s decision to block the extradition due to the Australian journalist’s mental status and fears he may take his own life in a US prison and ruled in favor of the US government’s appeal.
The Australian Greens leader and federal MP for Melbourne, Adam Bandt, shamed the Australian government for doing nothing while an Australian citizen is being prosecuted for publishing details of war crimes, and stressed that ScoMo must get Assange home.
Pointing that Assange’s persecution and the Australian government’s inaction are chilling, he slammed the court’s ruling as a critical moment in the fight against the suppression of press freedom that should worry everyone.
Andrew Wilkie, independent Australian MP, called on Morrison to end the lunacy, deploring the fact that Assange is facing a 175-year jail instead of looking forward to spending Christmas with his sons and fiancée.
Wilkie blasted Australia for going along with the UK, which is being a lackey of the United States, and for doing that with delight, stressing at the same time that journalism is not a crime.
Australian Greens senator Janet Rice also criticized the decision, urging Foreign Minister Marise Payne to urgently speak to the US and demand they drop the absurd charges and end Assange’s torture.
Amnesty International had written to both ScoMo and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, ahead of the US appeal hearing on Assange’s extradition, urging them to enter into a dialogue with Washington and demand that all charges against Assange be dropped.
They’ve underscored in the letter the importance of protecting journalists and publishers who have a crucial role in not only informing the public but ensuring that governments are held accountable.
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