‘I pled guilty to journalism’

[Pelican Press 0]

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‘I pled guilty to journalism’

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has said that he is free after years of incarceration because he “pled guilty to journalism”.

Mr Assange was released in June after five years in a British prison. He

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to obtaining and publishing US military secrets in

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that concluded a drawn-out legal saga.

Prior to his time in prison, he had spent seven years in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he claimed asylum on the grounds of political persecution.

Mr Assange said since his incarceration he has observed a campaign to internationally criminalise journalism, adding: “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.”

Mr Assange’s wife Stella, who he married while in a top security London jail, said he would need some time to regain his health and sanity after his long incarceration, as well as to be with their two children, who he had never seen outside of a prison.

He added: “My wife and my infant son were also targeted, a CIA asset was permanently assigned to track my wife, and instructions were given to obtain DNA from my six-month-old son’s nappy.

“This is the testimony of more than 30 current and former US intelligence officials speaking to the US press, which has been additionally corroborated by records seized in a prosecution fought against some of the CIA agents involved.”

He finished by saying freedom of expression is at a “dark crossroads … It’s heartening to know that in a world often divided by ideology and interests, there ******** a shared commitment to the protection of essential human liberties, freedom of expression and all that flows from it.

“I ***** that unless institutions like [the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe] wake up to the gravity of the situation, it will be too late. Let us all commit to doing our part to ensure that the light of freedom never dims, that the pursuit of truth will live on, and the voices of the many are not silenced by the interests of the few.”

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Assange arrives at the ********* council in Strasbourg, his first public appearance following release (Getty)

Mr Assange also accused then

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director

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of launching a campaign of retribution against the

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founder, even plotting to “kidnap and ************” him as he sought sanctuary in the Ecuadorian embassy.

He said the Donald Trump-appointed CIA director was seeking retribution after WikiLeaks “exposed” CIA spying on ********* political leaders and banks by infiltrating hacking into phones, smart TVs and iPhones.

Addressing the EU Parliamentary Assembly, he said: “CIA director Pompeo launched a campaign of retribution. It is now a matter of public record that under Pompeo’s explicit direction, the CIA drew up plans to kidnap and to ************ me within the Ecuadorian embassy in London and authorised going after my ********* colleagues, subjecting us to theft, hacking attacks and the planting of false information.”

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#pled #guilty #journalism

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