Biden says US considering dropping Assange case

President Biden said on Wednesday that the United States was considering dropping the prosecution of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who has been jailed in London for years while fighting extradition to face U.S. charges related to his publication of classified documents.

Biden made the comment about the case of the embattled editor, who is being held in a high-security prison, in response to a question about a request from Assange’s home country, Australia, that he be allowed to return there.

“We are considering it,” Biden said at the White House, where he received Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan.

Assange has been imprisoned for nearly five years after being charged by the United States with 18 counts of violating the Espionage Act for publishing thousands of documents detailing secret military operations and diplomatic intelligence, as well as revelations about civilian death tolls in USA. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His case has drawn international attention and condemnation from First Amendment rights groups.

Assange has rejected US efforts to extradite him. The charges could amount to a sentence of up to 175 years in prison, although U.S. attorneys have said he was more likely to be sentenced to four to six years.

In February, Australia’s parliament passed a motion calling for Assange’s release, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had discussed the matter in a meeting last fall with Biden.

In backing the motion, Albanese told the Australian parliament that “it is appropriate that we express our strong view that those countries should take into account the need for this to be concluded.”

Last month, the High Court in London ruled that Assange could not be immediately extradited to the United States until certain conditions were met.

The court gave the United States three weeks “to provide satisfactory assurances” that Mr. Assange “is permitted to rely on the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (which protects freedom of expression), that he is not prejudiced in the trial (including the sentence). by reason of his nationality, that he is granted the same First Amendment protections as a U.S. citizen and that the death penalty is not imposed.”