Julian Assange appears for the first time after his release
founder of wikileaks, Julian Assangesaid this Tuesday that if he is free it is because he has pleaded “guilty of doing journalism.”
“I want to be absolutely clear: I am not free because the system is working. I am free because I pleaded guilty to doing journalism“, Assange announced before the Council of Europe. This is his first public appearance since his release from prison in the United Kingdom in June and being able to return to his home country, Australia.
Assange’s release was made possible after a deal with the US Justice Department in which he pleaded guilty to violating espionage laws. The 62-month prison sentence he was supposed to serve was canceled and Assange was able to travel to Australia.
The WikiLeaks founder has stated that his agreement prevents him from denouncing the US regarding his extradition request and requesting information about what happened.
Assange says his release has been ‘really profoundly transformative’
Assange has spoken of his readjustment to life in freedom after twelve years in prison, first in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and then in prison.
The journalist declared, “To go from serving years in a maximum security prison to appearing before representatives of 46 countries is a profound change indeed.”
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full transcript
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
He is already going to Australia
After formalizing your agreement
With the United States Justice on Saipan Island
These are pictures from a few minutes ago,
When he left the court as a free man.
As expected, Assange has pleaded guilty
of the crime of espionage to avoid extradition and prison.
Julian Assange has been released after a 14-year judicial saga
He added, “My adjustment to the world has included some positive things, but also complicated things, like becoming a father again to a son who has grown up without me. Becoming a husband again.”
In November 2010, WikiLeaks disclosed more than 250,000 classified US military documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Judicial persecution began, first for allegations of rape and sexual assault and then for revelations of secrets.