US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the US is considering a request from Australia to end the espionage prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The Australian parliament adopted a resolution in February, supported by the country’s prime minister Anthony Albanese, which calls for an end to the long legal adventure of the 52-year-old Australian.

Julian Assange, arrested exactly five years ago in the UK, remains incarcerated in a London maximum security prison and continues to fight to avoid extradition to the US.

He is facing prosecution by US justice for disclosing since 2010 more than 700,000 confidential and classified documents relating to US military and diplomatic activities, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and risks a prison sentence if extradited and convicted as even 175 years old.

“We’re looking into it,” President Biden said succinctly when asked by a reporter if there was an American response to the Australian request, without giving any other details.

British justice demanded new guarantees from the US in late March about the Australian’s treatment if extradited, in particular that he will not face the death penalty, failing which it may give Julian Assange the right to file a final appeal against her edition.

“Do the right thing, drop the prosecution,” commented the Australian’s wife, Stella Assange, who has repeatedly warned of his deteriorating physical and mental condition and fears he will “die” if extradited.

For Julian Assange’s supporters, the marathon legal battle is actually a fight for press freedom.

Washington counters that the WikiLeaks founder endangered many lives by bringing to light the US documents, which in particular named US intelligence sources.

The current editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, Kristin Hraffson, responded yesterday by calling for a “political solution”, urging Australian authorities to “link this case to future agreements” on trade and bilateral cooperation with the US.

“They have to show courage and say ‘we have nothing to discuss unless you drop the prosecution of Julian Assange,'” Mr Hraffson told AFP during a rally of support for the WikiLeaks founder in central London.

Several more rallies are expected around the world today in support of Julian Assange, as it marks the fifth anniversary of his arrest.

On April 11, 2019, Julian Assange was arrested by British police and forcibly taken outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He had taken refuge there in 2012 to avoid possible extradition to Sweden, where he was being investigated for rape – they have since been filed – but above all in the US, where he was accused of hacking and espionage.