Federal politicians to urge US to drop extradition of Julian Assange

A multi-party delegation of federal MPs and senators will travel to Washington DC this month as part of the campaign to release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The United States is seeking to extradite Mr Assange from the United Kingdom on 18 charges related to the publication of thousands of military and diplomatic documents.

He has been detained in the Belmarsh Prison in London for more than four years, and is currently appealing the UK’s decision to agree to his extradition.

The parliamentary delegation will include former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, Liberal senator Alex Antic, independent MP Monique Ryan, and Greens senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson.

The group will urge US politicians and officials to abandon their extradition efforts.

In a statement, Mr Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton said Australians had “had a gut full” of his brother being left in detention, and wanted to see him returned to his family.

“The vast majority of Australians can’t understand why the US continues to act in a way that keeps Julian locked up in one of the worst prisons in the UK,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously expressed frustration that a diplomatic solution to the case has not been reached.

“This needs to be brought to a conclusion,” Mr Albanese told the ABC earlier this year.

He is set to travel to Washington himself next month.