Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ to be freed from UK prison
The WikiLeaks founder was released from a British jail in June after he struck a deal with the United States
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday that he was freed after years of incarceration because he “pled guilty to journalism”.
Assange gave evidence of the impact of his detention and conviction on human rights to the legal affairs and human rights committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The Parliamentary Assembly includes parliamentarians from 46 European countries.
“I am not free today because the system worked,” Assange said in his first public remarks since he was released in June. “I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.”
He added: “I pled guilty to seeking information from a source”.
Assange was released after five years in a British prison after 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.
