Australian lawmakers to urge release of Julian Assange

A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers will travel to the United States this month seeking the release of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange, his support group said on Tuesday, ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October.
The group will urge U.S. officials to drop their attempts to extradite Assange from a British prison to the United States, where he is wanted on charges over WikiLeaks’ release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables.
The delegation will include former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and lawmakers from the Labor government, opposition and the Greens party.
Assange’s brother and Chair of the Assange Campaign organisation, Gabriel Shipton, said the vast majority of Australians did not understand why the U.S. continued to demand his extradition.