WikiLeaks founder Assange accused of ‘very serious’ crime, Australia is told

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has pushed back against Australian demands for an end to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution – saying he is accused of “very serious criminal conduct” by publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

Australia’s centre-left Labour Party government has been arguing since winning the election last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old Australian citizen, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the US.