U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday (Apr. 11) that he was considering Australia's request to dismiss the prosecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who released a cache of confidential US classified documents and has been battling extradition to the United States.
According to Reuters, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - who has long expressed opposition to Assange, who is an Australian citizen - supported a parliamentary motion in February calling for Assange's return to Australia.
"We are considering it," Biden told a reporter who asked if he had a response to Australia's request to conclude Assange's prosecution.
On the other hand, Albanese said that his government had raised the issue at all government levels in every possible way and would continue to engage diplomatically for Assange's release.
"This is an encouraging comment from President Biden," he told Australian public broadcaster ABC.
"I believe this must be brought to a conclusion and that Mr. Assange has already paid a significant price, and enough is enough. There's nothing to be gained by Mr. Assange's continued incarceration, in my very strong view. And I've put that as the view of the Australian government."
Meanwhile, Assange's lawyer, Barry Pollack, also said that Biden's comments were "encouraging" after he had projected three weeks ago that Assange's legal team saw no indication of a resolution to US charges against him.
"It is encouraging that President Biden has confirmed that the United States is considering dropping its case against Julian Assange," Pollack said in an email to Reuters.
Assange's extradition was put on hold in March after London's High Court said the US must provide assurances he would not face the death penalty, as well as afford him "the same First Amendment protections as a United States citizen."
Assange faces a sentence of up to 175 years in a maximum security prison if extradited. Multiple rights groups, leading media organizations, and several world leaders—including Mexico and Brazil—have also urged that charges against Assange be dropped.
The US Justice Department did not immediately respond to reporters' requests for comment.
