Tassie’s Assange backers speak out

CALLS for Julian Assange’s freedom are intensifying as fears are held for the WikiLeaks founder’s wellbeing.

On Friday, hundreds of Tasmanians rallied for Assange on parliament lawns in Hobart.

Clark independent MP Andrew Wilkie said Assange needed to return to Australia and have his US extradition dropped.

“All he ever did as the head of WikiLeaks was to draw public attention to hard evidence of US war crimes,” Mr Wilkie said.

Assange needed to be released from London’s Belmarsh Prison, which he said housed the “worst of the worst” criminals.

“Julian Assange has already fronted court for the initial hearings, he’s due back in court in London in September – the pandemic allowing,” he said.

“So the Australian government needs to move, and smartly, to try and … have the extradition dropped.

“Julian has already been in Belmarsh now well over a year, for virtually all of that in solitary confinement. He’s a broken man. There is a risk that he will die in Belmarsh from the pandemic.”

Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson condemned the “lack of any action out of the Australian government”,

“Julian Assange is sitting rotting in a UK jail cell because he exposed the truth and embarrassed a key ally,” he said.

Former Reuters Iraq bureau chief Dean Yates also spoke out about the need for Assange’s freedom. Two of Yates’ colleagues were killed when a US military helicopter fired on civilians, shown in the WikiLeaks Collateral Murder video.

Former Greens leader Christine Milne and Assange legal team member Greg Barns also spoke. The federal government was contacted for comment.