Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has joined calls to end attempts to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States and raised questions over its fairness.
The United States won an appeal in a British court last Friday relating to the transfer of the 50-year-old, who is facing 18 counts relating to Wikileaks' release of nearly 500,000 secret files on the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Writing in the on Tuesday, the Nationals leader asked why Mr Assange should be sent to the US over criminal charges when he did not commit the alleged crimes on US soil.
“Assange did not steal any US secret files, US citizen Chelsea Manning did. Assange did publish them. In Australia, he received a Walkley Award in journalism for it,” Mr Joyce wrote.
“Assange was not in breach of any Australian laws at the time of his actions. Assange was not in the US when the event being deliberated in a court now in London occurred. The question is then: why is he to be extradited to the US? If he insulted the Koran, would he be extradited to Saudi Arabia?”
Mr Joyce said while he’s never met Mr Assange and from observation, he doesn’t “respect him”, he was not in the US when leaks were put online.
“If we are content that this process of extraditing one Australian to the US for breaking its laws even when he was not in that country is fair, are we prepared, therefore, to accept it as a precedent for applying to any other laws of any other nation to any of our citizens?
“They should try him there for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil or send him back to Australia, where he is a citizen.”
It’s not the first time Mr Joyce has called for "justice" regarding Mr Assange’s case.
Supporters of Julian Assange urge his release outside of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Source: AAP
"I, in no way shape or form, give a character recommendation about Mr Assange. That's not the issue. The issue is the sovereignty of the laws," he told reporters in Canberra in October.
Independent Senator Rex Patrick told SBS News over the weekend the Australian government had not placed enough pressure on the US and UK governments about the case, and said Mr Joyce, who is currently is in Washington in quarantine, should use his time there to lobby the Biden administration.
Several other Australian politicians have spoken out in support of Mr Assange in recent weeks.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on 11 April 2019. Source: AAP
Labor MP Julian Hill last week called on the Australian government to “stand up to the US and the UK and stop this extradition”.
In a series of tweets, he said: “Julian Assange, an Australian citizen is fighting for his life in London, as the USA seeks his extradition to face an effective death sentence. This Australian, who exposed US war crimes, is treated worse than a war criminal. He’s NOT receiving a fair trial.”
Also on Twitter last week, Greens Senator Janet Rice said: "Julian Assange's prosecution has always been political. It's going to need a political response from our government to get justice for him."
Federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie pleaded with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in parliament earlier this month to "end the lunacy" and demand the release of Mr Assange.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Prime Minister's Office have been contacted for comment.
