Presumably Assange isn’t thanking the supine Australian government, so desperate to please its American masters:
Julian Assange has thanked Australia for its support of his – and Wikileaks – cause but called on Americans to tone down political rhetoric, saying those who incite violence should be charged with incitement to murder.
Speaking to Fairfax in the stairwell of the Crown Magistrate’s Court just before his first hearing, Mr Assange smiled and appeared calm, saying Australia had been “enormously helpful to our cause” and whispered “thank you” before being whisked off to a special room with his legal team.
The hearing, in London’s Crown Magistrate Court, lasted less than 10 minutes with both sides saying that they are ready for the formal extradition hearing to be heard on February 6 and 7. Geoffrey Robertson said the defence case was proceeding in “swimming manner” and asked the judge that the defence’s skeleton argument be made available to the public.