Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was on Tuesday the 1stAhem October before a Council of Europe commission in charge of studying his detention conditions. This is the first time he has spoken since leaving prison. Dressed in a dark suit and burgundy tie, sporting a white beard, he was accompanied by his wife, Stella Assange, as well as one of his oldest traveling companions, the Icelandic Kristinn Hrafnsson. The Australian seemed visibly tired, speaking slowly and with selected words.
“Today I am not free because the system worked. Today I am free after years of imprisonment because I pleaded guilty to journalism. I pleaded guilty to soliciting information from a source. » he denounced, in reference to the agreement to plead guilty signed with the US Department of Justice. “I ended up choosing freedom over unattainable justice after being detained for years and risking a 175-year sentence with no real recourse.”he reported again.
The charges against him in the United States refer mainly to the usual actions of investigative journalists, although, according to the American authorities, some of the information published endangered sources in the US military and diplomacy on the ground. Julian Assange and his organization, WikiLeaks, published starting in 2010 and in association with major international media outlets, including the worldhundreds of thousands of classified documents related to US military and diplomatic activities, as well as accounts of extrajudicial executions and intelligence gathering against Washington’s allies.
Julian Assange spent seven years in the premises of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he took refuge to escape an extradition request in relation to accusations of rape and sexual assault in Sweden. Imprisoned after Ecuador stopped providing him protection, he was later the target of an extradition request from American justice and spent seven years in British prisons fighting it.
“Journalism is not a crime”
On Tuesday, the journalist and activist said he regretted “the magnitude of the lost ground” during his stay in the cell and the effects of the US prosecutions against him on freedom of expression in general. “I see more impunity, secrecy, retaliation for telling the truth and more self-censorship”he declared in his long introductory words. “It is difficult not to connect the US government’s decision to criminalize journalism with the cold climate that reigns on freedom of expression” judged the Australian.
“Journalists should not be prosecuted for doing their job. Journalism is not a crime, it is a pillar of a free and informed society. The criminalization of news gathering is a threat to investigative journalism. I have been formally convicted by a foreign country for having requested, received and published verified information about that country while in Europe. he said again.
The founder of WikiLeaks was invited by the Council of Europe because one of its commissions is investigating “the arrest and conviction of Julian Assange and its paralyzing effects on human rights.” The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made up of elected officials appointed by the parliaments of the 46 member states, will debate on Wednesday following this hearing.
“Tackling dissident voices in Europe”
“It is important that (…) Standard-setting institutions like PACE act so that what happened to me does not have to happen to others.”He insisted, and continued: “When powerful nations feel justified in attacking people beyond their borders, those people don’t stand a chance unless there are strong safeguards and a state determined to implement them. »
the world
Special offer for students and teachers.
Access all our content unlimitedly from €6.99/month instead of €12.99.
Subscribe
“I hope my testimony can highlight the weaknesses of existing safeguards. », he argued, adding that according to him, “The lack of effective protections means that Europe runs the risk of foreign powers abusing its extradition treaties to attack dissident voices in Europe”.
Julian Assange also spoke about his detention conditions. “The experience of being isolated for years in a small cell is difficult to express. It strips the individual of his identity and leaves only the raw essence of existence.whisper. I am still not ready to talk about what I suffered, the constant struggle to stay alive, both physically and mentally, and the deaths by hanging, murder or medical negligence of my cellmates. »
