Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that he sought a pardon for Julian Assange under the Trump administration but was ignored while reiterating an asylum proposal he first floated last year. During a press conference on Monday, President Obrador described the efforts he made to secure the anti-secrecy activist’s freedom and repeated an offer for political asylum following a December 10 decision by the UK High Court of Justice which ruled that Assange could be extradited to the United States on a series of espionage charges linked to his publication of classified material.
He stated, “It would be a sign of solidarity, of fraternity, to allow him asylum in the country that Assange decides to live in, including Mexico.” He noted that while his office had sent a letter to the Trump administration regarding a pardon for Assange, it never received a response. The president claimed that should Assange be permitted refuge in Mexico, he would not interfere in other nations’ affairs and would pose no threat.
