A resolution demanding the release of Julian Assange won overwhelming support from the Australian parliament.
The House of Representatives filed a resolution of the case against the WikiLeaks founder before his final extradition hearing set for next week.
Federal MPs from the lower house urged the U.S. and UK to stop their pursuit of Assange and allow him to return home.
The resolution earned an overwhelming 86 votes in favor of it and only 42 against it.
The Australian publisher, journalist, and activist is best known for founding the non-profit organization WikiLeaks.
In 2010, the organization released a trove of sensitive documents that revealed war crimes, diplomatic cables, and government surveillance programs from the US and other countries which sparked global controversy.
He is currently detained at Belmarsh high-security prison in London since April 2019 and is wanted in the United States on espionage charges.
He is facing 18 charges related to the publication of highly classified materials including those wars led by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The fate of Assange’s long-running extradition battle will be determined during a two-day hearing on February 20 and 21.
The High Court in London will assess next week whether he still has a chance to argue his case before the courts in the United Kingdom or if he has exhausted all legal avenues.
The decision could lead to an extradition process or the possibility to appeal before the European Court of Human Rights.
If his permission to appeal is denied, Assange will be at risk of extradition to the U.S. where he could face up to 175 years in jail.
