WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Speaks Out for First Time Since Prison Release: I ‘Pled Guilty to Journalism’
Shane Trejo
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WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange has spoken out for the first time since his release from prison following his plea deal with the U.S. government.
“This unprecedented global effort was needed… because of the legal protections that did exist, many existed only on paper, were not effective in any remotely reasonable time. I eventually chose freedom over unrealizable justice,” Assange said.
“After being detained for years and facing a 175-year sentence with no effective remedy, justice for me is now precluded as the U.S. government insisted in writing into its plea agreement that I cannot file the case at the European Court of Human Rights or even a Freedom of Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its expedition request,” he continued.
“I want to be totally clear: I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism. I pled guilty to seeking information from a source. I pled guilty to obtaining information from a source, and I pled guilty to informing the public what that information was. I did not plead guilty to anything else,” Assange added.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald’s coverage of Assange remarks can be seen here:
Julian Assange spoke publicly at the Council of Europe this week for the first time since being freed from prison. He said he is free today because he "plead guilty to journalism." @ggreenwald on how governments prosecute journalists for meaningfully challenging power: pic.twitter.com/VriOzMjYIo
— System Update (@SystemUpdate_) October 3, 2024
Big League Politics reported on Assange’s cruel mistreatment for years behind bars before he was forced to accept the plea deal:
“Wikileaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange has suffered from a stroke while incarcerated in Britain’s notorious HMP Belmarsh prison, according to his fiancé, Stella Moris. Moris revealed that Assange had suffered the stroke on Friday night, with the event in question occurring around a video court appearance in October.
Moris fears for Assange’s health as legal proceedings involving his extradition continue, with the United States government winning a case to extradite him on appeal in the British legal system this week.
“Julian is struggling and I fear this mini-stroke could be the precursor to a more major attack. It compounds our fears about his ability to survive the longer this long legal battle goes on.” The mini-stroke has left Assange with a drooping left eye, memory problems, and signs of neurological damage.
“It urgently needs to be resolved. Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That’s what’s happening to Julian. The never-ending court cases are extremely stressful mentally.”
Years of incarceration without any criminal conviction have taken a toll on Mr. Assange’s health, with the WIkileaks publisher concerned that he may die unless he’s released from the notorious Belmarsh prison.”
It is great news that Assange is free, but it is not a sign that the deep state has been reformed. Their behavior is as unconstitutional and repressive as ever.
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