Julian Assange i London i 2011. Foto: Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP / NTB.

Julian Assange-saken kan løses hvis WikiLeaks-grunn­leggeren inngår en tilståelses­avtale med USA der han slipper lang fengsels­straff, for siden å kunne returnere til Australia sier USAs ambassadør til Australia, Caroline Kennedy.

USA og Australia drøfter for tiden hvordan det kan finnes en diplomatisk løsning på Assange-saken, sier Kennedy til utenriksredaktør Matthew Knott i Sydney Morning Herald.

USAs justisdepartement har i flere år ønsket Assange stilt for retten for spionasje etter lekkasjene av amerikansk etterretningsmateriale om Irak-krigen i 2010. 52-åringen, som for tiden sitter i fengsel i Storbritannia etter en amerikansk forespørsel om utlevering. ville med det risikere å sitte i fengsel i USA resten av livet.

Men nå sier altså den amerikanske ambassadøren til Canberra at det kanskje finnes en bedre løsning for WikiLeaks-grunnleggeren, og dét etter modell av behandlingen av en tidligere Guantanamo-fange med al Qaida-fortid.

As hopes fade among Assange’s supporters that the Biden administration will abandon its extradition request, a David Hicks-style plea bargain has emerged as the most likely way for Assange to avoid a drawn-out criminal trial on espionage charges and a possible lengthy jail term in a maximum security US prison.

For hovedpersonen begynner det å haste med å unngå en spionasjedom i USA:

Assange’s legal options to avoid being extradited from the United Kingdom to the US could be exhausted within two months, coinciding with a visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Washington D.C. in late October.

Amerikanske myndigheter ønsker å få saken ut av verden, mener Assanges bror:

Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton said: “Caroline Kennedy wouldn’t be saying these things if they didn’t want a way out.

“The Americans want this off their plate.”

En australsk spesialist på internasjonal rett mener det er realistisk at Assange kan få muligheten til å tilstå mindre alvorlige anklager:

Australian National University international law expert Don Rothwell said Kennedy’s comments reflected the fact the Biden administration was “very unlikely” to drop the charges against Assange outright.

Rothwell said the more realistic option was that US authorities could downgrade the charges against Assange in exchange for a guilty plea, taking into account the four years he has already spent in prison in the UK.

The remainder of any sentence could be served in Australia under a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries, he said.

Men både juristen og broren mener det er tvilsomt om Assange tar sjansen på en tilståelsesavtale:

The complication was that Assange would be required to travel to the US and admit guilt, he said.

“Everything we know about Julian Assange suggests this would be a significant sticking point for him,” Rothwell said.

He added: “It’s not possible to strike a plea deal outside the relevant jurisdiction except in the most exceptional circumstances.”

But Shipton said the idea of his brother travelling to the US to strike a deal was a “non-starter” because of the risk it could lead him to attempt suicide.

“Julian cannot go to the US under any circumstances,” he said.

USAs utenriksminister avviser muligheten for at amerikanske myndigheter dropper alle tiltalene mot Assange, skriver Sydney Morning Herald.

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