The President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated this Wednesday (10/04) that he is considering the possibility of allowing the return of the journalist and the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, to his home country, Australia.
The statement came during a press conference held during the official visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The hypothesis arose from an official request from the Australian government sent to the White House in February, but which has not yet received a response. In the document, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attached a motion from his country’s Parliament calling for Assange’s return.
At the press conference, alongside Kishida, Biden was asked about the Australian request, and said he was “considering” accepting Assange’s return to his home country.
Currently, Assange is imprisoned in London and is awaiting judicial authorization for his extradition to the United States to be carried out.
In the North American country, the journalist will have to face trial for allegations of “violation of national security”, due to the leak, through WikiLeaks, of classified information from the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, which revealed several war crimes committed by the country’s military in the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan during the 2000s.
The possible extradition of Assange to the United States also puts pressure on Washington, as the country is accused of defending ambiguous speech regarding freedom of expression by defending a severe punishment for the Australian journalist for revealing information of public interest.
It is worth remembering that the accusations that the activist will face if sent to the United States could result in a life sentence in prison.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
