‘He did right by me’: Julian Assange endorses Anthony Albanese

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has broken his silence to endorse a second term for Anthony Albanese as he praised the prime minister’s efforts to secure his release from prison.

Assange, who attended Pope Francis’ funeral in the Vatican last week in a rare public sighting, has almost entirely avoided public commentary since his dramatic return to Australia last June after he struck a plea deal with the US Justice Department.

Julian Assange arrives at Canberra airport last year after agreeing to a plea deal with US prosecutors that led to his release.Credit: James Brickwood

He was detained for more than five years in London’s high security Belmarsh Prison after being charged with espionage and computer hacking for publishing hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Albanese raised Assange’s case several times in his meetings with former US president Joe Biden, making clear his release was a priority for the Australian government and public.

Assange said that, in the lead-up to Saturday’s federal election, many Australians had asked him whether Albanese’s role in his release had been overstated and whether he “has the backbone to stand up for Australians on other tough issues”.

“The truth is, in what became an impressive field of advocates, Albo did more to secure my freedom than any other politician or public figure, even more than the late Pope, whose support was both moving and significant,” Assange said in a statement provided to this masthead.

Assange said that Albanese had promised to lobby for his release when he was opposition leader and followed through on this pledge when he became prime minister.

“Against all expectations for an Australian politician, once elected, he kept his word,” Assange said.

Assange was released from prison in the UK after he agreed to plead guilty to one US charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information in June last year. He was then flown to Australia and released.

The activist had earlier taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 when facing sexual assault charges in Sweden that were later dropped.

Beyond advocating for his release, Assange said the Albanese government “has proven itself unusually capable of rescuing Australians caught up in sensitive political situations”.

“Albo hasn’t just stood up to the US to end the political imprisonment of an Australian, he’s also intervened for other Australians detained in difficult circumstances, including in China,” he said, referring to the release of journalist Cheng Lei.

“Does this mean Albo will put Australian interests first and skilfully navigate tensions between the US, EU, and China? I can’t say for sure.

“But I do know this: He can.

“Albo did right by me, and he is worlds apart from [Scott] Morrison. You don’t need to be a bully to have a backbone.”

Of Albanese’s predecessors, Assange was particularly critical of Morrison for what he said was a lack of effort to secure his release.

The Coalition has pledged to create a special envoy for hostage affairs to advocate for Australians jailed overseas on flimsy or politically motivated charges, saying more can be done to secure their release.

Albanese said last year that Assange’s release was “the culmination of careful, patient and determined advocacy”.

“Regardless of what you think of his activities, Mr Assange’s case had dragged on for far too long,” he said.

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