CANBERRA, Australia (AP) 鈥� Australia鈥檚 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he recently told U.S. President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration to bring WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange鈥檚 prosecution to a close.
Albanese鈥檚 comments Wednesday to Parliament appear to be an escalation of Australia鈥檚 diplomatic pressure on the United States to drop spying charges against the 51-year-old who is .
鈥淚 have raised this personally with representatives of the United States government. My position is clear and has been made clear to the U.S. administration: That it is time that this matter be brought to a close,鈥� Albanese told Parliament.
鈥淭his is an Australian citizen," Albanese added. "I don鈥檛 have sympathy for Mr. Assange鈥檚 actions on a whole range of matters, but 鈥� you have to reach a point whereby what is the point of 鈥� continuing this legal action which could be caught up now for many years into the future?鈥�
Albanese did not say whether he discussed Assange directly with Biden when the pair held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines a Cambodian summit two weeks ago. But Albanese said he had advocated for Assange 鈥渞ecently in meetings.鈥�
Albanese compared Assange鈥檚 treatment to that of former , who the prime minister said was "now able to participate freely in U.S. society.鈥�
U.S. prosecutors allege Assange helped Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning鈥檚 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017.
International news outlets that cooperated with WikiLeaks to publish confidential U.S. State Department cables in 2010 鈥� The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais and DER SPIEGEL 鈥� published an open letter this week calling for Assange鈥檚 prosecution to be dropped.
Albanese spoke in response to independent lawmaker Monique Ryan's question if the Australian government would intervene to bring Assange home.
Albanese鈥檚 government has been circumspect about Assange鈥檚 prosecution since it was elected in May. Ministers鈥� criticisms have been restrained to phrases such as the case had 鈥渄ragged on for too long.鈥�
When the British government , Albanese that he publicly demand the United States drop the prosecution.
鈥淭here are some people who think that if you put things in capital letters on Twitter and put an exclamation mark, that somehow makes it more important. It doesn鈥檛,鈥� Albanese at the time.
鈥淚 intend to lead a government that engages diplomatically and appropriately with our partners,鈥� Albanese added.
Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press
