The Australian Parliament has passed a motion calling for Julian Assange to be returned to his home nation instead of extradited to the United States.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was one of 86 MPs to vote in favor of his return, while 42 opposed.
The motion calls on the United States and the United Kingdom to bring the "matter to a close so that Mr. Assange can return home to his family in Australia.”
Speaking to the parliament, Albanese said he hopes the situation can be "resolved amicably."
"It's not up to Australia to interfere in the legal processes of other countries, but it is appropriate for us to put our very strong view that those countries need to take into account the need for this to be concluded," Albanese continued, according to a report from Sky News.
“Regardless of where people stand, this thing cannot just go on and on and on indefinitely,” Albanese added.
Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said he met with his US counterpart Merrick Garland in Washington, DC, in January.
"This was a private discussion, however this government's position on Assange is very clear, and has not changed," Dreyfus said in a statement. "It is time this matter is brought to an end."
Speaking to reporters at the Parliament House, Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton praised the MPs for passing the resolution but warned that he could be extradited to the U.S. as soon as next week.
“That means all the ties to his family, his lifeline that are keeping him alive inside that prison will be cut off and he’ll be lost into a horrific prison system in the United States,” Shipton said. “This show of support from the Parliament is at a crucial time and now gives the government a real mandate to advocate very, very strongly for a political solution to bring Julian Assange home.”
Next week, the High Court in London will hear a final appeal in his extradition case.
Assange has been held at Belmarsh prison in London since April 2019 as the US government works to extradite him. Before his arrest, he had been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy with asylum since June 2012.
He is currently facing charges under the Espionage Act for publishing the Iraq and Afghan War Logs. If convicted, the publisher could face a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison for publishing the leaked materials.
