Blinken tells Australia that WikiLeaks founder is accused of 'very serious' crime

Source: Associated Press

Blinken tells Australia that WikiLeaks founder is accused of ‘very serious’ crime

BY ROD MCGUIRK
Updated 5:13 PM EDT, July 29, 2023

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

Australia’s center-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the elections last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States.

Assange’s freedom is widely seen as a test of Australia’s leverage with President Joe Biden’s administration.

Blinken confirmed on Saturday that Assange had been discussed in annual talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Brisbane, Australia.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bllinken-australia-assange-extradition-559b75e6aaf2220301e0f478b0958ca6