Julian Assange’s temporary reprieve means Australia must now work aggressively to ensure his release | Greg Barns

There is only political upside for Albanese in picking up the phone to Biden, not waiting for an appeal to wend its way through the UK courts

The decision by the UK high court to allow the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leave to appeal against his extradition if the US does not provide assurances about his right to the first amendment, no death penalty and equal treatment under US law, is yet another milestone in this long-running case. Meanwhile Assange languishes in the notoriously harsh Belmarsh prison in London.

Assange faces criminal charges carrying a possible sentence of 170 years' imprisonment for publishing materials in 2010 which exposed war crimes by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.