Mexican president pleads with Biden again for Julian Assange's acquittal

MEXICO CITY

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that he delivered a letter to US President Joe Biden advising him that apprehending Julian Assange would be an attack on freedom of speech.

During his daily press conference, Lopez Obrador said that he delivered the letter to his US counterpart during his visit to Washington on July 12.

Lopez Obrador explained the letter's content, where he reportedly disclosed to Biden why Assange should be freed, stating that the founder of Wikileaks did not "commit any serious crime."

"He did not cause anyone's death; he did not violate any human right, and he exercised his freedom… Detaining him would mean a permanent attack on freedom of expression and freedom," said the Mexican president.

"And I explained to him (Biden) that Mexico offers protection and asylum to Julian Assange," said Lopez Obrador at the press conference.

According to Lopez Obrador, Biden has yet to respond to his plea, saying he needs to be respectful and wait for Biden to analyze the letter.

This is not the first time Lopez Obrador has tried to intercede in Assange's case.

In January 2021, while celebrating the UK's refusal to extradite Assange, Lopez Obrador offered political asylum and protection.

Lopez Obrador has recently warned that he will start a campaign to take down the symbolic Statue of Liberty in New York City if US authorities decide to imprison the Austrian journalist.

"If he (Assange) is taken to the United States and sentenced to the maximum penalty and to die in prison, we must begin the campaign to dismantle the Statue of Liberty that the French delivered, and that is in New York because it is no longer a symbol of freedom," warned Lopez Obrador.

The British government announced on June 17 that Assange would be extradited to the US, where he would be prosecuted for disseminating military and diplomatic information from the US.