A pair of Tasmanian federal politicians want the Commonwealth government to call on the United States to drop their charges against Australian citizen and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
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On Monday night, Australian time, a British judge ruled that Mr Assange could not be extradited to the US to face numerous charges of espionage and hacking - which carry with them a potential maximum jail sentence of 175 years - due to his fragile mental health.
The US Justice Department has indicated it will appeal Judge Vanessa Baraitser's ruling, vowing in a statement to "continue to seek Mr Assange's extradition to the United States".
Tasmanian Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson and independent Clark MHR Andrew Wilkie, both members of the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group, used the British court's decision to implore Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne to call on the US government to stop going after Mr Assange.
"We have an alliance with the US ... and [Mr Morrison and Senator Payne] fear there's too much at stake to stand up to the US on an issue like this," Senator Whish-Wilson said.
The Greens senator said Judge Baraitser's decision was "a huge relief for those of us who have been campaigning for years".
Mr Assange is now expected to be released on bail.
"This is just hard evidence of what we've been saying all along, that the man has taken a terrible toll and is a wreck on account of the injustice and the mistreatment that's been meted out for him for many, many years," Mr Wilkie said of the ruling.
"I think there's every prospect of success if the Australian government realises that their job is to stand up for an Australian overseas who is being treated unjustly. That's one of the jobs of the Australian government. Not to kowtow to Washington."
The man has taken a terrible toll and is a wreck on account of the injustice and the mistreatment that's been meted out for him for many, many years.
- Andrew Wilkie, independent Clark MHR
Greg Barns, a Hobart barrister and adviser to the Assange campaign, said there were two more avenues for appeal against the judge's ruling in the UK, which could potentially see the case drag on for a further two years.
"But it could end tomorrow ... because [US] President [Donald] Trump could grant a pardon," he said.
Appearing on 3AW on Tuesday morning, Mr Morrison said Mr Assange would be free to return home to Australia if subsequent appeals failed.
"Consular support has consistently been offered to Mr Assange," he said. "So that would be a matter for him but when those [legal] proceedings and those processes end."
Rob Inglis
Rob Inglis is a reporter with The Examiner, covering state and federal politics. He is based in Hobart.
Rob Inglis is a reporter with The Examiner, covering state and federal politics. He is based in Hobart.
