The father and brother of Julian Assange asked the German government on Monday June 20 to intervene with US President Joe Biden in favor of the abandonment of the charges against the founder of WikiLeaks.
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“
The German government must express to President Biden its concerns about this case and ask that the charges be dropped
,” said Gabriel Shipton, the brother of Julian Assange, at a press conference in Berlin.
The British government announced on Friday that it had signed the decree for the extradition to the United States of Julian Assange, who will appeal.
The 50-year-old Australian is being prosecuted in the United States, where he faces 175 years in prison for a massive leak of confidential documents.
No possibility of intervention
His family and supporters believe he has always been a journalist and a defender of freedom of the press and expression.
His father and his brother are now asking Germany to rely on its influence within NATO and to defend the cause of their loved one during the G7 region in Bavaria (South) at the end of the month.
“
I always considered doing nothing was a form of approval and complicity
,” said Julian Assage's father, John Shipton.
“
When you try to talk press freedom to Russia while endorsing the extradition of a journalist and publisher for doing their job, you lose your case
,” added Gabriel Shipton.
The two members of the family of Julian Assange were to meet Monday and Tuesday with German parliamentarians who are members of a support group for the founder of WikiLeaks.
But the German government spokesman said he saw no possibility for Germany to intervene politically in a legal process in another country.
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“
The legal process is already underway, and I would be a bit wary of political intervention
,” Steffen Hebestreit told a press briefing, adding that Berlin would continue to monitor the situation closely.
Julian Assange has been detained for three years in Belmarsh high security prison, near London.
The founder of WikiLeaks had previously spent seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in the British capital, where he had taken refuge in 2012. He had also been the subject of rape charges in Sweden, which have since been dropped.
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