MOSCOW, Jan 17 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- A group of Australian lawmakers and think tank representatives on Friday asked outgoing US President Joe Biden to grant a full and unconditional pardon for WikiLeaks founder and activist Julian Assange, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.
"Dear President Biden, we, the undersigned, respectfully request a full and unconditional pardon of Mr. Julian Assange," the joint letter released by The Australian Institute think tank read.
The letter was signed by independent members of the Australian parliament – Zoe Daniel, Helen Haines, Monique Ryan, David Pocock, Kylea Tink and Andrew Wilkie, as well as senior members of the Human Rights Law Centre, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and The Australia Institute.
"A full and unconditional pardon for Mr. Assange would reinforce those shared values at a time when they are more at risk than at any other time in our shared history," the letter added.
Assange’s recent conviction under the US Espionage Act sets a "deeply troubling precedent" for press freedom worldwide, the letter said.
Biden has already been urged to pardon Assange. In November, two US congressmen, progressive Massachusetts Democrat James McGovern and libertarian Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, sent a letter to the US president asking him to pardon Assange.
In June 2024, Assange, an Australian citizen, was released from a UK prison, where he had been held while his extradition to the United States was pending, after agreeing to a plea deal with the US, and left for Australia. In the United States, he faced prosecution under the Espionage Act for obtaining and disclosing classified information. Assange was indicted on 18 criminal charges that could bring him a total of up to 175 years in prison.
WikiLeaks was founded by Assange in 2006 but rose to prominence in 2010 when it began publishing large-scale leaks of classified government information, including from the US.
--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI
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