In his first public appearance since his release from a UK prison, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addressed European lawmakers, urging them to combat the growing “transnational repression” of journalism by major world powers.
Speaking to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday, Assange reflected on his years of incarceration and the battle he faced against extradition to the US.
Assange had been imprisoned in the UK while fighting charges from the US government, which accused him of illegally obtaining and publishing classified defense information. His release in June followed a plea deal with the US Justice Department, in which he admitted to some charges and forfeited his right to legal appeals, including through the European Court of Human Rights, in exchange for his freedom.
“I am not free because the system worked. I am free because I pled guilty to journalism,” Assange told the PACE Legal Affairs Committee in Strasbourg.
During his address, Assange recounted his ordeal, describing a “campaign of retribution” against him, allegedly spearheaded by the CIA. Reports have suggested that the agency, under then-director Mike Pompeo, conducted extensive surveillance on Assange and even considered kidnapping or assassinating him while he was under asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The barbaric measures included full time surveillance of his wife, and attempting to obtain a DNA sample of his sone from a diaper.
Assange pointed out that while his case garnered international attention, many others facing similar repression are not as fortunate. He lamented the worsening global environment for freedom of speech since the founding of WikiLeaks, highlighting increasing secrecy, retaliation, and self-censorship.
“There is more impunity, more retaliation for telling the truth, and more self-censorship,” Assange warned, connecting his prosecution by the US government to a broader chilling effect on journalism. He argued that the US had misused European legal systems to target him and suggested that other powerful nations could replicate these tactics in the future.
Assange called on European governments to uphold the rights to free speech and truthful reporting, ensuring they remain protected for all, not just a privileged few. Without strong safeguards, he cautioned, individuals facing state repression have little hope of defending themselves.
Why is Julian Assange at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today and how is his readaptation to the world going? pic.twitter.com/LBGXRklNYq
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 1, 2024
As long as people keep voting for corrupt globalists, nothing will change……
vote for them, don’t vote for them. It does not matter the corrupt system will try and see that they are the ones in power every time.
I agree however, the issue has been both sides are funded and by the elite. The election merely gives the appearance of a democracy.
The Rothschild’s are entrenched in the monetary system and personal information blackmail. In government, simply means mouthpiece.
Orchestrating and holding video evidence of serious repugnant crime of a political leader relinquishes the leaders freedom to exercise all matters of governance to the organisations who holds that evidence.
Examples of this is the UK’s PM who has no intention to endorse or follow his own nation’s view of illegal immigration of dangerous criminals. Imprisoning citizens who speak out about Starmer’s behaviour is a clear sign dishonourable Keir Starmer is owned.
In our own land, New Zealand suffers the very same. Dishonourable Jacinda Ardern and now dishonourable Chris Luxton are still refusing to look at the government’s own vaccine deaths from Barry Young. New Zealand’s Dr Matt Shelton on the doorsteps of parliament revealed self-assembling nano evidence is ignored. It is just the same all over the Weston world.