Australia PM refrains from calling for Assange release, China comments
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Canberra is neglecting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's issue and the dangers he could be facing due to the threat of his extradition, while China criticizes the hypocrisy of the US and the UK.
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Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese steered clear on Monday from making any public appeal calling for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian national, following the United Kingdom's decision to extradite him to the United States.
"I've made clear what my position is publicly. I made it clear last year. I stand by my comments that I made then. But I'll make this point as well, that, you know, there are some people who think that if you put things in capital letters on Twitter and put an exclamation mark, then that somehow makes it more important. It doesn't," Albanese said.
He also declared his intention to "lead a government that engages diplomatically and appropriately with our partners." His words came in response to a question at a press conference on whether he had spoken to US President Joe Biden on Assange's extradition.
This step contradicts previous statements Albanese had made, such as one in December when he said the WikiLeaks founder had already "paid a big price" for the publication of the information and saw no reason to further pursue him.
Albanese made it to the premiership in May, months after his statements in support of Assange. Since then, Assange's relatives and supporters have been voicing support for the release of the citizen from prison. This came after the previous government of Scott Morrison had underlined that it would not interfere in Assange's extradition to the US.
The United States is prosecuting Assange over espionage charges after the organization he founded published thousands of classified documents that exposed war crimes committed by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during the so-called "war on terror".
Assange is currently on remand at the Belmarsh maximum-security prison in southeast London and has been there since October 2020 after serving an 11-month sentence for breaking bail conditions.
The UK authorities detained him after he sought shelter in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he remained until 2019 over concerns that he could be extradited to the United States.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has approved the US government's request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday.
The case was passed to the home secretary last month after the Supreme Court ruled that there were no legal issues with assurances given by US authorities about how he will be treated.
Read next: Julian Assange: a Timeline
It is worth mentioning that last year, a defense lawyer for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange argued Thursday that US promises that Assange would not be subjected to harsh prison conditions if extradited were not enough to address concerns regarding his fragile mental health and high risk of suicide.
Assange's lawyer said the Australian was "too mentally ill" to be extradited to the US in light of his trial on "espionage charges."
US, UK hypocrites on freedom of speech
London's decision to extradite Assange to the US shows the true, hypocritical attitude of London and Washington toward freedom of the press and speech, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.
"The Assange case is the mirror reflecting the hypocrisy of the US and UK in matters related to press freedom," the diplomat told a press briefing.
Both London and Washington "support" freedom of speech only when it comes to disclosing information about other countries, but severely punish those who disclose information about their own governments, he stressed.
"The whole world is watching Assange's fate and hopes for impartiality and justice to eventually prevail."
