Julian Assange’s mum pleads for ‘diplomatic solution’

The mother of Julian Assange is calling for “all sides” to come together and save her son from being extradited to the US.

Julian Assange’s mother has pleaded for a “diplomatic solution” amid the United Kingdom’s decision to extradite the WikiLeaks founder to the United States, saying her son had “suffered enough”.

Christine Assange, in a statement shared by former MP and long-time Assange supporter George Christensen on Saturday night, said it had “become clear” the case was “political and requires a diplomatic solution”.

Mr Assange has spent more than a decade trying to avoid extradition from the UK.

The saga began in 2010 when WikiLeaks published a series of leaks provided by the then US army soldier Chelsea Manning, as well as a dump of more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables containing classified diplomatic analysis from world leaders.

The US government then launched a criminal investigation into the leaks.

On Friday, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel dashed hopes by approving his extradition to the US.

“When people become very invested in winning at all costs the collateral damage is truth, justice and humanity,” Mrs Assange said in the statement,” she said.

“I implore all sides to take a step back from the heat of the fight for a moment and reflect.

“I ask all sides to consider a diplomatic solution.”

Mrs Assange said in the “spirit of bringing this to an end” both sides would “need to give a little”.

“Julian has been detained long enough to satisfy any needs for revenge from those pursuing prosecution,” she said.

“He has suffered enough to satisfy those wishing to make him a symbol for press freedom.

“I beseech those who say they really care about Julian to put his needs as a suffering human being first. I have faith that, with good will on all sides, a resolution can be reached.”

Overnight to Saturday, Mr Assange’s wife Stella Moris said she hoped the Prime Minister would put his talk into action.

“The Australian Prime Minister has expressed in the past his view of this prosecution, of Julian’s imprisonment and I hope the Australian government can follow through on its principles,” she said.

Legal Adviser to the Australian Assange Campaign, Greg Barns, said government influence wasn’t without precedent, pointing to the return of David Hicks – who was detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay.

“Australia can use its extra relationship with Washington to bring an Australian back to safety,” Mr Barns said.

“We saw it with David Hicks almost 20 years now who found himself in Guantanamo Bay.

“The Howard government at the time brought him back to Australia.

“This is not unprecedented. It is important that Australia is able to use the great relationship it has with Washington to ensure the safety of Australians.”

In a statement late on Friday evening, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the case had dragged on for far too long.

“We will continue to convey our expectations that Mr Assange is entitled to due process, humane and fair treatment, access to proper medical care, and access to his legal team,” the statement said.

“The Australian government has been clear in our view that Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and that it should be brought to a close.

“We will continue to express this view to the governments of the United Kingdom and United States.”

FAMILY PRESSURE THE US

As Julian Assange nears the end of his extradition battle in the United Kingdom, his father and brother are in the US pressuring the White House to drop spying charges.

“I’ve watched him been slowly crushed by this whole process,” Gabrielle Shipton told News Corp Australia in New York.

“This never-ending snakes and ladders. Demonisation of Julian over the years. The pressure of the world’s media. The pressure has worn away on him. That’s why he had a stroke.”

Assange collapsed during an extradition hearing in October at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, where he remains since he was arrested in 2019.

Mr Shipton revealed that his brother remained on medication as a result of the stroke to deal with its lingering effects.

Julian Assange’s father John Shipton and brother Gabriel Shipton in front of the British Consulate in New York. Picture: AFP.

Assange received another crushing blow when the British government approved a US request for the WikiLeaks founder to face trial over the publication of secret military files from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

He has 14 days to appeal the ruling, which Mr Shipton said they had already prepared for given the UK government’s unsurprising willingness to push it forward.

“The rejection of the application to appeal at the Supreme Court level was already a sign that the UK wants to speed this process up and extradite Julian as quickly as they can,” he said.

“We were always expecting it, it’s just inching one step closer to extradition to the United States,” he said.

Expecting the move, the family held a press conference outside the British Consulate in New York to urge the US Department of Justice to drop the prosecution.

“All it will take is a simple telephone call from Attorney-General Merrick Garland to the home secretary” Assange’s father, John Shipton, said outside the consulate. “

Home Secretary Priti Patel, Britain’s interior minister, signed an order on Friday authorising Assange’s extradition.

Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange protest against his extradition to the US outside the High Court in London. Picture: AFP.

For 10 days before the order, Assange’s father and brother have travelled through Los Angeles, Washington DC and New York meeting with the offices of US congress people from both the Democratic and Republican parties, along with Australian consulate officials.

While Mr Shipton would not confirm who precisely he met, he said they have been “receptive”.

Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna have previously spoken out against the prosecution of Assange, saying using the Espionage Act to persecute those who publish information violates the US Constitution’s right to free speech.

r Julian Assange arrives at court in London to be sentenced for bail violation. Picture: AFP.

They have also had success in lobbying European leaders, where they will also appeal the case before the European Court of Human Rights.

French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon promised on Friday to grant Assange French nationality if left-wing parties win a majority in parliamentary elections on Sunday.

“If I am prime minister on Monday, Mr Julian Assange — I believe he has already asked for it — will be naturalised as French and we will ask for him to be sent to us,” Mr Melenchon told reporters.

“Mr Assange should be decorated for all his services to French people.”

Julian Assange arrives for a meeting with French politician Jean Luc Melenchon inside the Ecuadorean in 2012. Picture: AFP.

It’s more than then received from Australia’s new Labor government, with neither Prime Minister Anthony Albanese nor his cabinet ministers speaking directly to the family.

But Mr Shipton said they were heartened by the prime minister’s one reference to Assange when he said not all foreign affairs matters are best dealt with a loudhailer, suggesting there could be private machinations.

“We’d love to see them doing more and putting a stop to the extradition before its gets to the USA,” Mr Shipton said.

“An Australian solution really is what is needed in this circumstance.”

The seeming shift in political sentiment has come after a sustained two-year publicity campaign. On this fifth visit to the US, Mr Shipton has done a media blitz of interviews with Tucker Carlson on the right, Mehdi Hasan on the left, and mainstream news organisations including NBC, AAP, Reuters, and AFP.

“The narrative is shifting away from the old, ‘he’s responsible for Trump’, these sexual assault allegations hanging over his head; now it’s more toward the principle of the case,” Mr Shipton said.

The principle of the case is the “grave threat” it poses to press freedom, said Assange’s Australian defence lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

Stella Moris, Julian Assange's wife with Tim Dawson, executive member of the National Union of Journalists and Jen Robinson, Assange's legal adviser. Picture: Getty.

She called on the Biden administration to drop charges for the danger it poses to free speech everywhere, adding that they would use “every appeal mechanism available” to prevent the extradition from going forward.

“He faces 175 years for publishing information for which he’s won journalism awards the world over, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize,” she said after the ruling.

“This should shock and concern everyone, every citizen, every journalist, every editor, every media organisation.”

Mr Shipton is on his way to the UK for the June 23 premiere of Ithaka, a feature documentary that follows John Shipton’s battle free his son.

If they see Assange while there, it’ll be the first time since his March 23 wedding to Sella Moris.

John Shipton with Stella Moris as they leave from Belmarsh Prison in London. Picture: AFP.

Stella Moris, partner of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, poses for photographs before wedding with Julian Assange. Picture: AFP.

Guests at the small prison wedding included Mr Shipton and his dad, John Shipton, as well as Stella’s mother, Teresa, brother, Adrian, and her two children, Gabrielle and Max.

“We only had water to drink, and in the prison, there are these emergency buttons. Panic buttons. And the kids were running over to push these panic buttons and everyone had to stop them,” Mr Shipton recalled fondly.

“We talked about our families and things like that. Julian asked about my daughter, and asked what she’s up to. She was one when he saw her last, and now she’s eight.”

“That was a bittersweet moment,” he added.