Julian Assange’s family urge Anthony Albanese to intervene before US extradition

Julian Assange’s father, John Shipton, and brother, Gabriel Shipton, say they have been unable to secure a meeting with the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Julian Assange’s family have said the Albanese government needs to intervene in the case before he is extradited to the US, saying it would effectively be a “death sentence” for the WikiLeaks founder if there was no intervention.

The plight of Assange, who is being held in UK’s Belmarsh prison pending an appeal against his extradition to the US, has been raised with the new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, by Assange’s Australian solicitor, Stephen Kenny.