Correction: This article has been updated to reflect a statement from Commonwealth leader buttsforpm.

In a press statement today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally petitioned the United States and British governments to allow the return of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Australia. Foreign Affairs minister TheSensibleCentre stated today that "the United States has forced Julian Assange to shelter in inhumane conditions, and we know this has had an adverse impact on his mental health." The Socialist Party leader also praised Assange's journalistic work, saying it was "motivated by genuine journalistic interest, and people have a right to know what he brought to light".

Assange's holding conditions in the British Belmarsh Prison have been oft-condemned by human rights groups. A statement from Amnesty International in January 2021 called his imprisonment "arbitrary", further adding that "he has endured punishing conditions in high security detention at Belmarsh prison for more than a year". UN Special Rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer called for Assange's release from Belmarsh, stating that "it not only amounts to arbitrary detention, but also to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

The Biden administration in the USA has also been urged by civil liberties groups to drop the prosecutions against Julian Assange - which the Australian government today declared as illegitimate - including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders, who wrote that the "proceedings against Mr. Assange jeopardize journalism that is crucial to democracy".

When reached for comment, Attorney-General model-putrid endorsed the Foreign Affairs minister's position, calling it a "great victory for the rule of law and freedom of the press". The opposition has yet to publicly respond to the government's decision in a formal statement, however Commonwealth leader buttsforpm has tweeted that the decision is "common sense", and one the opposition will support.

- Alison Brooks, Pitchfork News