Wikileaks' Assange says he 'pleaded guilty to journalism' to secure his freedom

NEWS WIRES

1 October 2024 at 4:39 am·1-min read

Wikileaks founder Julien Assange spent years living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid arrest and then in prison after he published hundreds of thousands of confidential US government documents. His contentious actions saw him labelled both a champion of free speech and a reckless blogger who put lives at risk.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday he was released after years of incarceration only because he pleaded guilty to doing "journalism", warning freedom of expression was now at a "dark crossroads".

"I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pleaded guilty to journalism," Assange said.

He was addressing the Council of Europe rights body at its Strasbourg headquarters in his first public comments since his release.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) had issued a report expressing alarm at Assange's treatment, saying it had a "chilling effect on human rights".

Assange spent most of the last 14 years either holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London to avoid arrest, or locked up at Belmarsh Prison.

He was released under a plea bargain in June, after serving a sentence for publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential US government documents.

Assange's case remains deeply contentious.

(AFP)

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