Blinken Tells Australia That WikiLeaks Founder Is Accused Of ‘Very Serious’ Crime

CANBERRA, Australia — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back against Australian requests to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Saturday. Blinken stated that the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in exposing a trove of confidential data more than a decade ago. The Australian government made demands for an end to the prosecution.

Since winning elections the previous year, the government of Australia, which the center-left Labour Party leads, has been making the case that the United States should give up its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has been locked up in a British prison for the past four years while fighting extradition to the United States.

It is widely believed that the release of Assange will test Australia’s leverage with the administration of President Joe Biden.

On Saturday, Blinken confirmed that Assange had been brought up at yearly discussions with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane, Australia.

“I have an understanding of the issues and perspectives of Australians. Blinken told the press, “I believe it is very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed back against Australian requests to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Saturday.

“Mr. Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” he added. “These allegations relate to one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country.”

Wong stated that the investigation and prosecution of Assange WikiLeaks had “dragged on for too long” and that Australia desired for the charges to be “brought to a conclusion.”

Regarding whether the United States should dismiss the prosecution or reach a plea deal, Australia still needs to make a clear recommendation.

Assange is facing 18 accusations of espionage and one charge of computer abuse in connection with the publication by WikiLeaks in 2010 of hundreds of thousands of documents classified as military and diplomatic secrets.

Prosecutors in the United States of America allege that he assisted U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing confidential diplomatic cables and military data, which were subsequently published by WikiLeaks and put people’s lives in danger.

According to Australia’s argument, the United States’ treatment of Assange and Manning and WikiLeaks has a “disconnect” between them. As a result of former President Obama’s decision to reduce Chelsea Manning’s sentence from 35 years to seven, she could finally walk free in 2017.

SOURCE – AP