Julian Assange's wife urges Biden to 'do right thing' as Australian PM says 'enough is enough'

Julian Assange's wife has called on Joe Biden to "do the right thing" and "drop the charges" as Thursday marks the fifth anniversary of her husband's imprisonment.

The US president has said he's "considering" a request from Australia, where Assange is from, to drop the prosecution and allow the WikiLeaks founder to return to his country.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an "encouraging statement".

"I believe this must be brought to a conclusion and that Mr Assange has already paid a significant price and enough is enough," said Mr Albanese on Thursday.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:36 'Assange already paid significant price' says Australian PM

"There's nothing to be gained by Mr Assange's continued incarceration, in my very strong view, and I've put that as the view of the Australian government."

Mr Assange's lawyer also called Mr Biden's remarks "encouraging, while WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said it was "not too late" to stop the extradition.

It comes as supporters prepare to mark five years since he was taken to London's Belmarsh prison, having been dragged out of his refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 10:40 Stella Assange spoke to Sky's Yalda Hakim in March

Events will be held around the world on Thursday as they continue to campaign for his release.

The 52-year-old faces prosecution in the US over an alleged conspiracy, nearly a decade and a half ago, to obtain and disclose national defence information.

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It followed the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

After Britain eventually approved his extradition, Mr Assange's lawyers in February launched a final bid to block it in the English courts.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:32 Biden 'considering' dropping Assange prosecution

His extradition was put on hold in March after the High Court said it wanted more assurances he would not face the death penalty.

A further hearing is due in May.

Australian authorities say there is a disconnect between America's treatment of Mr Assange and US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.

The US accuses Mr Assange of encouraging and helping Ms Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files which were then published by WikiLeaks, allegedly putting American agents' lives at risk.

Image: Mr Assange evaded arrest for seven years by living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London

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Read more on Sky News:

Stella Assange: 'It's not safe to send Julian to US'

Assange 'created grave risk to US agents'

Ms Manning was sentenced to 35 years but Barack Obama cut it to seven years, allowing her to be released in 2017.

Mr Assange's supporters insist he is a journalist who exposed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest, and that he is protected by the First Amendment.