The Australian government has called for the persecution of Julian Assange to halt. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has responded by saying that the WikiLeaks founder is said to have “risked very serious harm to our national security”, The Guardian reported.

Blinken acknowledged that the Australian government had brought up the issue with the US on numerous occasions following high-level meetings in Brisbane that were mostly centered on military cooperation. He added that he understood “the concerns and views of Australians.”

But he pointedly added that it was “very important that our friends here” in Australia understood the US concerns about Assange’s “alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country”.

Assange remains in Belmarsh prison in London as he fights a US attempt to extradite him to face charges in connection with the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars as well as diplomatic cables.

At a joint press conference alongside Blinken, Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong said: “We have made clear our view that Mr Assange’s case has dragged for too long, and our desire that it be brought to a conclusion, and we’ve said that publicly and you would anticipate that that reflects also the position we articulate in private.”

Wong added, however, that there were limits to what could be achieved in talks between governments “until Mr Assange’s processes have concluded”.

Blinken, speaking second, told reporters that as a general matter of policy the US did not comment on extradition proceedings.

“I really do understand and certainly confirm what Penny said about the fact that this matter was raised with us, as it has been in the past, and I understand the sensitivities, I understand the concerns and views of Australians,” he said.

“I think it is very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter.”

Blinken said the US Department of Justice had indicated that Assange was “charged with very serious criminal conduct”.

“The actions that he has alleged to have committed risked very serious harm to our national security, to the benefit of our adversaries, and put named human sources at grave risk – grave risk – of physical harm, and grave risk of detention,” Blinken said.

“So, I say that only because just as we understand sensitivities here, it’s important that our friends understand sensitivities in the United States.”

Blinken and Wong were joined by the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, and the Australian defence minister, Richard Marles, for annual talks known as Ausmin.

Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, said it was now up to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to “put Australians’ views in front of the president himself” during a forthcoming visit to the US.

“Secretary of state Antony Blinken’s snub to Australians demanding Julian’s freedom cuts deeper knowing the American who allegedly leaked the information has been free since 2017,” Shipton said.

 Australian federal politicians from across the political spectrum wrote to the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, in April to argue that case “set a dangerous precedent” for press freedom and would damage the reputation of the US.

The 48 MPs and senators, including 13 from the governing Labor party, said the charges – which include 17 counts under the Espionage Act and one count under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act – pertained to Assange’s actions “as a journalist and publisher” in publishing information “with evidence of war crimes, corruption and human rights abuses”.

The prosecution of Assange “imperils journalism everywhere and undermines the United States’ reputation as a safe place for press freedom and free speech,” according to the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

source:US REJECTS AUSTRALIAN CALLS TO STOP PURSUIT OF WIKILEAKS FOUNDER ASSANGE (independentpress.cc)