The father of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange retains hope that the incoming Biden administration will look more favourably on his son's plight than the previous US government.
Assange is being held in Belmarsh Prison in London, pending a court decision on a warrant for his extradited to the US to face charges.
The court will hand down its judgment on January 4, and Assange's father, John Shipton, will be there.
Mr Shipton, one of his son's most ardent supporters, has recently returned from the UK, where he spent time with his Assange's partner, lawyer Stella Morris, and the couple's two young sons.
Mr Shipton holds hope in the fact Joe Biden was vice-president in the Obama administration which never sought to have Assange extradited.
"They never pursued the prosecution of Julian under the Obama and Biden administration," Mr Shipton said.
Assange faces 17 charges in the US which relate to obtaining and disclosing classified information, and a charge in relation to an alleged conspiracy. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years.
The US, which is seeking his extradition, calls it one of the largest compromises of classified information in US history.
Secret government files and documents were published on the WikiLeaks website between 2010 and 2011, including hundreds of thousands of top secret US military cables and messages.
Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he lived for seven years. In April 2019 the Ecuadorian government withdrew his asylum and he was arrested.
Since then the 49-year-old has been locked up.
Mr Shipton is now embarking on a series of speaking engagements about his son's plight before heading back to London in early January for the all-important court decision.
Assange's two sons were fathered while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy
Mr Shipton says the boys are now almost three and four years-old and have barely spent any time with their father.
He says that Assange makes long voice recordings for them, but due to the second COVID-19 wave in the UK, visitors are not allowed at Belmarsh prison.
Mr Shipton said up to 45 per cent of prisoners at the jail now have COVID-19 and about 20 staff members.
The last time the boys saw their father Assange had to wear full protective clothing, and he was not allowed to touch the children nor they him.
Mr Shipton said his son's physical and mental health is failing as a result of the decade he has now spent locked up.
"Julian has been arbitrarily detained for 10 years," Mr Shipton said.
He points out whilst the United Nations and human rights groups across the world have declared support for Assange, the same has not been forthcoming from the Australian Government.
"I can say that it appears that silence is acquiescence," Mr Shipton said.
"My observation is to the Australian Government, if you have done all these consular visits, they are a testament to failure," he said.
Mr Shipton will speak in Nimbin, Mullumbimby and Byron Bay on December 8, 11 and 13.
Australian Associated Press
