MPs pleaded on Tuesday for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be granted "
political asylum
" in France, in order to escape prosecution by the United States, which wants to obtain his extradition from Britain.
A motion for a resolution was signed by forty elected officials from all sides, to affirm that "
France cannot remain silent
" in the face of the fate of the Australian, "
victim of judicial harassment, but in reality political
" of Washington.
The text is signed by many elected officials from the left, but also from the majority and some from the right.
Read alsoWikiLeaks: new attempt by the United States to extradite Julian Assange
François Ruffin (LFI), one of the initiators, pleaded during a press conference for “
this fighter to be released from the truth
”, Jean Lassalle (Libertés et Territoires group) emphasizing the “
painful and dramatic nature but also exceptional
”of its situation. The leader of rebellious France Jean-Luc Mélenchon, presidential candidate of 2022 and long-time supporter of Assange, assured that if he was elected, he "
would make him naturalize
". "
Only France can save Julian
", launched his father, John Shipton, who made the trip to Paris to greet "
the help and support
From French deputies.
The lawyer Stella Morris, with whom he had two children when he was reclusive at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, had also made the trip to affirm that the life of the founder of Wikileaks "
is in danger
".
Whistleblowers
To be debated in session at the Palais Bourbon, the resolution must either be placed on the agenda by the government or its majority, or be placed on a “
niche
” day reserved for a minority group, but no procedure. or final date has not yet been set. Among the signatories, we find the boss of the Communist Party and presidential candidate Fabien Roussel, the ex-LREM today unregistered Cédric Villani or the president of the UDI Jean-Christophe Lagarde. The subject of whistleblowers is to be debated Wednesday in the National Assembly, with a bill to strengthen their protection. The LFI group has indicated that it would demand that this protection be extended to whistleblowers abroad.
Read alsoThe keys to understanding the Assange affair
Julian Assange was arrested by British police in April 2019 after spending seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had taken refuge while on bail.
London High Court judges are called upon to say in the coming weeks whether they uphold or overturn the refusal to extradite the Australian, who faces 175 years in US prison for making hundreds of thousands of classified documents.
Assange has been held for two and a half years in British high security Belmarsh prison.