Secretary of State confirms hard line against journalist detained in London’s maximum security prison for publishing authentic but top secret documents and videos
Julian Assange “risk” of causing “very serious damage to national security” of the United States. And that’s why Washington will continue to ask the Australian government for his extradition. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken clarified this, saying he understands “the concerns and opinions of Australians”.
After talks with Australian authorities in Brisbane, Queensland, which focused primarily on military cooperation, Blinken said it was “very important that our friends here” in Australia understand US concerns about “the alleged role of Assange in one of the largest leaks of classified information in the history of our country“.
Arrested in 2019, the journalist is being held in the maximum security prison of Belmarsh in London “in conditions of extreme and unjustified surveillance and isolation”, noted the UN officer against torture, Nils Melzer when he visited him months ago.
Assange was in the Ecuadorian embassy for several years before being arrested in London. He is now fighting legally to avoid extradition to the United States, where he faces trial on charges of publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (including videos showing civilian massacres by the US military), as well as documents diplomats.
Source-www.adnkronos.com