Change of government would present ‘great opportunity’ in fight to free Julian Assange, his father says

Julian Assange’s father, John Shipton, described the WikiLeaks founder as ‘morally destroyed, physically destroyed’. Photograph: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

The father of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has touted the possible election of a Labor government as a “great opportunity” for the movement to free the WikiLeaks founder from imprisonment.

Speaking at a Sydney Q&A screening of documentary Ithaka, which documents his efforts to free Assange, John Shipton said a groundswell of parliamentarian support was growing for his son’s plight and he was buoyed up by the prospect of an incoming Labor government.