Key Assange supporter says Wikileaks founder could cut deal to secure freedom

London: One of federal parliament’s leading supporters of Julian Assange says the WikiLeaks founder could cut a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to “whatever nonsense” necessary to secure his release from prison.

Labor MP Julian Hill, the member for Bruce, tried unsuccessfully to visit Assange in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held since 2019, during a private trip to Europe recently.

The Member for Bruce, Julian Hill. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has directly lobbied US President Joe Biden for the Queenslander’s release but has so far failed to secure it, and has hinted that Assange may have to accept a plea deal.

“The reality is that Australia cannot force the United States to [release Assange], and if they refuse, then no Australian should judge Mr Assange if he chooses to just cut a deal and end this matter,” said Hill.

“His health is deteriorating and if the US refuses to do the right thing and drop the charges then no one would think less of him for crossing his fingers and toes, pleading guilty to whatever nonsense he has to and getting the hell out of there.”

Hill, a member of a cross-party group of MPs who support Assange’s release, also hit out at supporters who he sees as fixated on having Assange suffer as a martyr and continue to languish in prison as he faces extradition to the United States.

“It worries me greatly that there are some Assange supporters who would rather he be a martyr than a free man, but ultimately it’s important for everyone to respect what Julian himself chooses to do,” he said.

His wife Stella Assange has repeatedly warned his health has deteriorated badly due to his incarceration over the last four years.

The couple were married in a prison ceremony in 2022 and have two sons together, born when Assange was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy seeking asylum to defy a separate extradition to Sweden. He was wanted there for questioning over now-lapsed sexual assault allegations.

Assange is on his final appeal in the British courts against extradition to the US, on charges under the Espionage Act relating to the theft and publication of hundreds of thousands of classified cables more than a decade ago.

Stella Assange has not said if her husband will accept any plea deal, urging instead that the Biden administration force the US Department of Justice to drop the case, which began under the former Trump administration.

The Assanges argue that the prosecution is a political witch-hunt, but the British courts have ruled that he should be extradited to the US.

Hill said there was only one priority as the case continued to drag on and that was “bringing him home safely to be with his family”.

“I’m not privy to the negotiations that may be occurring but frankly the parliamentarians would back him to the hilt in cutting a deal if that’s what he chose,” he said.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaving a London court in May 2019.Credit: AP

“That’s a message that I wanted to convey personally and hear from him what he wants.”

The Australian High Commission in London tried to help Hill visit Assange on July 1, but the request was denied at the last minute by prison authorities.

“It was incredibly frustrating and disappointing that the Belmarsh Prison authorities failed to approve Mr Assange’s request for me to visit him,” Hill said. “The required paperwork was completed by Julian multiple times.

“However it mysteriously got lost and mislaid until the day before the scheduled visit when they said it was too short notice. It’s up to them to explain whether it’s a conspiracy or a stuff up, but it’s profoundly disappointing to the cross-parliamentary group.”

Jenny Louis, the governor of Belmarsh Prison, was contacted for comment.

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