Julian Assange’s father John Shipton can breathe a sigh of relief on Wednesday after a decade-long campaign to free his son.
The WikiLeaks founder was released on Wednesday after a court on the US Pacific island of Saipan found him guilty of violating US espionage laws.
Assange’s family, including his father, children and wife Stella, gathered in the Australian capital Canberra ahead of his arrival by private jet this evening, bringing an end to a lengthy legal battle over the release of hundreds of thousands of classified US defence documents by WikiLeaks in 2010.
Shipton said he plans to ask his son, when he arrives, in Australian style, “Where have you been?”
“My faith has never died,” he told Reuters in an interview at parliament.
“It is a treasure to have Julian back in Australia and seeing his family regularly and doing the normal things of life. To live amongst the simple beauty of life is what life is all about,” Shipton said.
He said he was “torn in two” over the deal, which sees Assange plead guilty to one count of espionage. He said his release would mean he would get to spend quality time with his sons.
Yet he was concerned about “the political and legal circumstances surrounding it.”
“I think it would be a problem for journalists and publishers around the world to publish criticism of the United States government,” he said.
Assange’s release caused celebrations in Canberra, where politicians who had campaigned for Assange gathered around Shipton in a hall outside the parliament chamber.
“We want to give you a hug,” MP Sophie Scamps said.
Shipton said Assange would need time to recover from the “monastic life” he led in self-exile for seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London followed by five years in prison.
He was keen for his son to be “involved in practical everyday human life, not in the realm of politics.”
“The US Secret Service published its review in 2011 which said we would have to chase him and his family to the ends of the earth and bankrupt them. It’s expensive, but I have no complaints – the results are there for everyone to see,” he said.
He said the Australian Government had been “fantastic”.
Assange has previously said he inherited the “rebel gene” from his father. Shipton said he personally considered his son to be conservative and modest.
“His understanding of the Internet’s potential to bring us information that can become the basis of knowledge is revolutionary,” he said.
“He’s only 52, I think he’ll find something to do. He’ll be 53 next week. The pace he has … he’ll bring out the things he can do.”
Shipton said the family had done everything in their power to secure Assange’s release over the past decade.
“We Australians have succeeded in overturning a superpower that was trying to destroy an Australian citizen,” he said.
Shipton learned about the plea deal from his son, Gabriel.
Gabriel told Reuters on Wednesday that he was “very relieved that this ordeal is finally over and that Julian can move on with his life.”
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