Pamela Anderson cried foul Friday after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected her plea to help bring home native-born WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
The actress and activist said it was “disappointing but not unexpected” that Mr. Morrison told her he will not intervene to prevent Mr. Assange from being extradited to the U.S.
“Australia needs to step up and help him, and he can definitely be the one to help him, but, you know, he kind of says he can’t. Which is not true. Australia has done it before,” Ms. Anderson said about Mr. Morrison during a radio interview.
Mr. Assange, 48, has been jailed in London since April in connection with charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice stemming from soliciting and publishing classified material through his WikiLeaks website, and court proceedings are currently scheduled to begin in February to decide whether the Australian native should be extradited from the U.K. to stand trial.
A personal friend of the WikiLeaks founder, Ms. Anderson is among Mr. Assange’s most well-known advocates and recently pressed the Australian government to intervene on his behalf.
“Beyond providing consular assistance, it is important to note that Australia has no standing and is unable to intervene in Mr. Assange’s legal proceedings,” Mr. Morrison responded in a letter to Ms. Anderson, The Australian newspaper reported Tuesday this week.
Mr. Morrison’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking its reaction to Ms. Anderson’s latest remark, which was made on the “Kyle & Jackie O Show” and first reported by The Daily Mail.
Mr. Assange faces criminal charges related to classified military and diplomatic documents published by WikiLeaks dating back to 2010, including multiple violations of the U.S. Espionage Act, and faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life imprisoned if extradited abroad and convicted. He has reasoned that he acted as a journalist.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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