Is Julian Assange a bit of a dickhead? His adviser says no

“Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and it should be brought to a close," Penny Wong said.

Picture: Jack Taylor

“Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and it should be brought to a close," Penny Wong said.

The British government has approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States.

The US want to put the 50-year-old Australian on trial over the publication of classified documents that exposed alleged war crimes 12 years ago.

The US says Assange broke the law and endangered lives, but Assange's supporters say the reports were in the public interest and exposed American wrongdoing in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They argue the case is politically motivated.

Why does the US want Mr Assange extradited?

Well, in 2010 Assange's publication - WikiLeaks - released more than 91,000 documents, most of which were secret US military reports about the war in Afghanistan.

That year, the publication also released 400,000 classified US military files chronicling the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009 in the largest leak of its kind in US military history. US authorities essentially want to try the WikiLeaks founder for espionage. 

And, at the same time, Sweden issued an arrest warrant for Assange for alleged rape. He denied the claims and said they were made in a bid to extradite him to the US for trial. There were never any charges laid. 

Why has it taken so long?

Julian Assange lived in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London from 2012 to 2019, when the US Justice Department formally asked Britain to extradite Assange to the US to face charges.

Ecuador initially offered him protection over fears Assange could face the death penalty if he was sent to the US to face treason charges relating to WikiLeaks exposures. There were concerns an attempt to extradite Assange to Sweden to face rape charges would give US authorities easier access to him. 

Assange lived in a small office that was converted into a bedroom and while it was a safe haven that stopped him being extradited, his relations with his hosts soured over the years.

Embassy staff complained of him skateboarding late at night, playing loud music and walking around in his underwear. There were even reports Assange smeared his own faecal matter on the walls. 

"We've ended the asylum of this spoiled brat. From now on we'll be more careful in giving asylum to people who are really worth it, and not miserable hackers whose only goal is to destabilise governments" Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno.

Living in the embassy, Assange secretly fathered two children with his long term partner and member of his legal team Stella Moris, who was born in South Africa and holds both Swedish and Spanish citizenship.

Julian Assange's wife Stella Moris and their two children Max and Gabriel. Picture: Laura Panack / Mega Agency

In 2019 Assange was relocated to a maximum security prison called Belmarsh in the UK while his extradition case went through the British courts.

That is where the pair married in March this year at a small ceremony attended by just four guests. The bride wore Vivienne Westwood.

Hearings into his extradition began in 2020. In Early 2021, the judge concluded it would be “oppressive” to extradite Assange to the US because of his frail mental health. They said there was a real risk that he would take his own life.

But that decision was overturned after the US gave some assurances about his treatment, including a promise they would not seek the death penalty and that Assange could be transferred to Australia to serve any possible sentence.

What happens next?

Now that the British government has approved the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, Assange's team have 14 days from June 17 to mount an appeal.

WikiLeaks has indicated they'll take legal action. 

BREAKING: UK Home Secretary approves extradition of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to the US where he would face a 175 year sentence - A dark day for Press freedom and for British democracy
The decision will be appealedhttps://t.co/m1bX8STSr8 pic.twitter.com/5nWlxnWqO7

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 17, 2022

What was Australia’s reaction to the extradition decision?

This is where it gets interesting. The Labor government has only been in the driver's seat for a hot minute so we're not sure exactly what they'll do, but our new PM Anthony Albanese has previously indicated his support for Assange's release. 

He even held a one-on-one meeting with ­Assange’s father and had dinner with his high-profile lawyer, Australian Jennifer Robinson, in 2019 where he was personally lobbied on the issue. 

Then Opposition leader Anthony Albanese dines with Julian Assange's lawyer in Canberra. Picture: Supplied

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Friday said the case should wind up soon.

“Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and it should be brought to a close. We will continue to express this view to the governments of the United Kingdom and United States," they said. 

It's also important to note that prior to becoming prime minister Albanese was a signatory to the Bring Julian Assange Home Campaign petition last year and said the 50-year-old should be freed.

"Enough is enough...I don't have sympathy for many of his actions but essentially I can't see what is served by keeping him incarcerated," he told a party room meeting. 

But since taking office Albanese has been more tight-lipped on the matter.

When asked about Assange at a press conference last week, he said: "not all foreign affairs is best done with the loud hailer".

Support for Assange isn't necessarily across the board and some - such as Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles - have been highly critical.

"Julian Assange is no hero. What he has done over the last few years has put a whole lot of people’s lives at risk including those of Australian service personnel,” Marles said at the time. 

And, despite Assange being more divisive than a game of Monopoly the adviser to the Australian Assange campaign, Greg Barns, told The Australian there had been a significant shift in how his client was viewed by Australians.

“Certainly even people who have been hostile to Assange in the past and might have thought he was a bit of a dickhead, are now swinging around … because they think the case has just gone on too long,” he said.

Albanese is due to attend the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of this month, which could be an opportunity to raise Assange with US President Joe Biden. 

Closer to home a string of cross benchers - including Independent MP Andrew Wilkie and teal independent Allegra Spender - have been outspoken in their support of Assange's release. They have called on Albanese to pick up the phone and demand an end to the Australian's imprisonment.

It’s time for Anthony Albanese to pick up the phone, call Joe Biden, and urge him to intervene so Julian Assange isn’t unjustifiably imprisoned.

— Allegra Spender (@spenderallegra) June 18, 2022