KEY POINTS
- An Australian activist says he was arrested for protesting outside Dublin Castle during US President Joe Biden’s visit.
- Ciaron O’Reilly held a key-shaped placard demanding freedom for Julian Assange.
- Mr Assange, co-founder of WikiLeaks, is fighting extradition to the US.
An Australian anti-war activist and former bodyguard to Julian Assange claims he was arrested after staging a protest outside Dublin Castle in Ireland where United States President Joe Biden was attending an event this week.
Ciaron O’Reilly posted pictures of himself on social media holding a novelty-sized key-shaped placard emblazoned with the words “President Biden, Free
“.
Mr O’Reilly said he was attempting to deliver the key to Mr Biden, who was
honouring the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is fighting extradition to the US. Source: AAP
He said he was arrested by officers of Garda Siochana, the national police service of Ireland, after protesting outside Dublin Castle while a banquet was being held for Mr Biden.
“Joe seemed to have dropped his key to #JulianAssange’s cell, I was merely returning it!,” Mr O’Reilly wrote on Twitter.
“We need to #FreeAssangeNOW! O’Reilly was wrestled to the ground by members of the GardaiSiochana outside #Dublin Castle where a banquet was underway during the #Biden visit,” the post read.
A video posted on Mr O’Reilly’s Twitter account appeared to show him sitting on the ground as three Garda Siochana officers stood around him.
Mr Assange, an Australian activist and publisher who co-founded WikiLeaks, has been held in London’s Belmarsh prison since 2019 and is
.
He was taken to the maximum security prison after
at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, which had sheltered Mr Assange for more than six years, following a decision by then-president Lenín Moreno to withdraw his asylum.
Prior to entering the embassy, Mr O’Reilly, a Londoner who is originally from Brisbane, was one of two volunteer bodyguards who would escort Mr Assange between court appearances.
The US has faced calls to drop its extradition proceedings against Mr Assange.
Earlier this week, 48 Australian MPs and senators signed a letter to US Attorney-General Merrick Garland urging him to end the pursuit of Mr Assange.
“A clear majority of Australians consider that this matter has gone on for far too long and must be brought to a close,” said the letter, which coincided with the fourth anniversary of Mr Assange’s imprisonment in the UK.
“We implore you to drop the extradition proceedings and allow Mr Assange to return home.”
Appeals to stop his extradition are currently before the UK courts.
SBS News has contacted Garda Siochana for comment.
– With AAP.
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