The father of WikiLeakers founder Julian Assange on Sunday pleaded for the release and repatriation of his son after the Australian government confirmed he would receive “no special treatment” from Canberra.
John Shipton (pictured) — who was secretary of the WikiLeaks Party when his son tried to run for an Australian senate seat in 2013 national elections — reportedly visited Assange every Christmas at the Ecuador embassy in London after he sought refuge there in 2012.
“DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs) and the prime minister should in a nuanced way do something,” Shipton told Melbourne’s Sunday Herald Sun.
“It can be resolved simply to the satisfaction of all. There has been some talk in a meeting between a senator and a senior DFAT official to extradite Julian to Australia.”
Just 24-hours earlier Assange’s mother made a similar plea, as Breitbart News reported.
“A mother’s plea to police, prison officers, court staff re my son Julian. He’s been *8 yrs detained WITHOUT charge *6yrs deprived fresh air, exercise, sun/VitD *3 yrs sick/in pain denied proper medical/dental care *1yr isolated/tortured,” Christine Assange said.
“Please be patient, gentle & kind to him,” she tweeted:
Mr Shipton also expressed shock at the appearance of his son in footage of his removal from London’s Ecuadorian embassy on Thursday.
“I saw him, the way they dragged him down the steps, the coppers – he didn’t look good,” he added. “For months and months he has been living like a high-security prisoner, he can’t even go to the toilet. There have been cameras watching his every move.”
“I’m 74 and I look better than him and he’s 47. It’s such a shock.”
The 47-year-old Australian had sought refuge in the embassy while on bail awaiting extradition to Sweden to face charges of sexual assault and rape, which he denied.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday confirmed that Julian Assange, as an Australian citizen, “will get the same treatment as everybody else.”
“When Australians travel overseas and they find themselves in difficulties with the law, well, they face the judicial systems of those countries, it doesn’t matter what particular crime it is they’ve alleged to have committed. That’s the way the system works,” Morrison told national state broadcaster ABC.
“Mr. Assange will get the same support that any other Australian would … he’s not going to be given any special treatment,” he said.