Safety workers at Parliament Home in Canberra seized copies of a ebook about Julian Assange from his relations as they entered the constructing to fulfill MPs on Thursday, deeming it “protest materials”.
Assange’s household and supporters visited parliament on Thursday to induce the Albanese authorities to intervene within the proposed extradition of the WikiLeaks founder from the UK to the USA.
They have been carrying copies of a ebook on Assange’s case by Nils Melzer, the previous United Nations particular rapporteur on torture, which they meant to provide to MPs and media.
However Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, stated parliament safety refused to let the household take the ebook into the constructing, as a result of they deemed it to be “protest materials”.
“I used to be saying ‘that is ridiculous. They’re books’,” Gabriel Shipton stated. “I provided to name Andrew Wilkie, who was the MP who co-chaired the Parliamentary Pals of the Convey Julian Assange House Group. He stated ‘sure, go forward, name him, however you possibly can’t take the books in’.”
The household was capable of distribute books to MPs and media from a field already saved in Wilkie’s workplace, and a staffer from Wilkie’s workplace was capable of later retrieve the seized books.
However Louise Bennet, a campaigner with the Convey Assange House Marketing campaign, stated the actions of safety have been “ridiculous”.
“They have been extremely adamant that it was protest materials and that it was not allowed into the constructing,” Bennet stated.
“It simply blows my thoughts. That is the kind of factor that we see in Trump’s America, that we criticise in China. What's our parliament afraid of that we will’t convey a ebook in?”
The Division of Parliamentary Providers stated it couldn't touch upon “particular operational safety issues”.
Gabriel Shipton attended parliament with Assange’s father, John Shipton, and different campaigners.
Throughout their go to, they raised considerations concerning the lack of progress for the reason that Could election. The household urged Anthony Albanese to make the difficulty “non-negotiable” with the US.
Gabriel Shipton stated on Friday that he was disillusioned within the rhetoric from the brand new authorities, which he stated had undergone a “important change” because it received workplace.
He stated Labor had been rather more forthright in its criticism of the remedy of Assange earlier than the election.
“They have been elected on that platform, [it was] one in every of their guarantees basically, and it’s one of many first ones that they’ve gone again on,” he stated.
Albanese has stated that he intends to pursue the matter diplomatically and that “not all overseas affairs is greatest finished with the loudhailer”.
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