Julian Assange makes first public statement since being freed: ‘I pled guilty to journalism’

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Louise Thomas

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Julian Assange 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 pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors 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 remains a shared commitment to the protection of essential human liberties, freedom of expression and all that flows from it.

“I fear 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.”

Mr Assange also accused then CIA director Mike Pompeo of launching a campaign of retribution against the WikiLeaks founder, even plotting to “kidnap and assassinate” 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 European 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 assassinate me within the Ecuadorian embassy in London and authorised going after my European colleagues, subjecting us to theft, hacking attacks and the planting of false information.”