US Considers Request To Drop Julian Assange Case

(USNewsBreak.com) – The United States government has pursued Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for years. He stayed in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years before they kicked him out and invited British authorities to arrest him. The Australian has resided in jail ever since, and the US has tried to extradite him. Yet, Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, recently demanded that the US release him and allow him to return home. President Joe Biden said his administration is considering it.

During an interview on Wednesday, April 10, Biden spoke with reporters during a meeting at the White House with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. One of the journalists shouted a question asking him about the Australian prime minister’s request to drop the case against Assange. Biden responded, “We’re considering it.”

Biden says he's considering Australia's request to drop prosecution of Wikileaks founder Assange https://t.co/NZKpXKegbs

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 11, 2024

The news gave hope to both Albanese and Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, who said, “It looks like things could be moving in the right direction.” She has advocated on her husband’s behalf, talking about her husband’s trials behind bars, including his deteriorating health and her fear that he will die in jail. Notably, he was too ill to attend his most recent court hearings on his extradition.

Federal prosecutors indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and a single charge of computer misuse for publishing documents more than a decade ago. Chelsea Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst, provided the classified information. Manning received a sentence of 35 years in jail, but former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence right before he left office. She served seven years.

That’s where Albanese said there was a disconnect. According to AP News, he expressed his opinion, saying, “There’s nothing to be gained by [his] continued incarceration.” He added, “Mr. Assange has already paid a significant price, and enough is enough.” If the US were to drop the charges against the Wikileaks founder, he would return home to Australia.