Julian Assange’s First Public Appearance Since Release From Prison

Timeline of Julian Assange’s Amazing Saga explained that Julian Assange, Australian founder of WikiLeaks, was held in the Belmarsh prison in London for over 5 years although he was charged with no crime. Assange Released from Prison After Agreeing To Plead Guilty to Espionage Act Violation reported Assange’s release on June 24. Julian Assange Is Back Home Now! showed that when Assange arrived in Australia with his attorney Jennifer Robinson on June 26, he was met by his wife Stella, father, and brother Gabriel who created the film Ithaca which likened Assange to the mythical hero Ulysses returning home from the Trojan War through much hardship.

Julian Assange makes 1st public appearance since his release from prison (video)

Julian Assange made his first public appearance since his release from prison, telling European lawmakers the United States had forced him to “plead guilty to journalism” to put an end to his years of captivity and that his case still set a dangerous precedent. Assange addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, an international rights body, in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday.

Assange Speaks At Landmark Hearing

Julian Assange breaks silence at landmark Council of Europe hearing

After maintaining a low profile since his release from prison in June, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spoken publicly for the first time in an address to a committee hearing of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), reaffirming the dangers his prosecution posed for journalism and press freedom. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes the PACE hearing and report, and urges the Assembly to pass the accompanying resolution.

In a hearing in Strasbourg, France on 1 October, Assange addressed the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in the context of the Committee’s report on ‘The detention and conviction of Julian Assange and their chilling effects on human rights.’ Assange gave an introductory statement of 22 minutes, then fielded questions from PACE members for nearly an hour, noting he was tired shortly before concluding.

This marked the first time Assange has spoken in public since a plea deal enabled his release from Belmarsh prison at the end of June. Assange is expected to return to Australia to continue his recovery following the hearing.

In his address, Assange emphasised his belief that he had been targeted for journalism. “The fundamental issue is simple: Journalists should not be prosecuted for doing their jobs,” he said. He noted that he had chosen freedom “over unreliable justice,” and stated “I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.” He warned that journalists remained under threat in Europe, urging PACE to act to ensure that what happened to him can never happen again.

Julian Assange’s address to the Council of Europe was a landmark moment, both for his own case but also for the broader fight to strengthen press freedom protections in Europe. We welcome the Parliamentary Assembly’s report highlighting the chilling effect of Assange’s prosecution, and urge the swift passage of the accompanying resolution. Like much of the international community, the Council of Europe did far too little during Assange’s period of detention. We hope that his statement in the Palais and the damning details of the report will serve as a wake-up call on the need for concrete action to ensure that such a case cannot happen in Europe again.

Rebecca Vincent

RSF Director of Campaigns

Assange’s Address To Parliamentary Assembly

In the video below, Lord Richard Keen, The Chair on the Committee For Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly, began the meeting by explaining that Assange would speak for 12-15 minutes followed by questions from reporters. He said that on October 2, a debate will be held on the report The detention and conviction of Julian Assange and their chilling effects on human rights. He was followed by Ms. Thorhildur Sunna, the rapporteur who visited Assange in prison.

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange To Make First Public Statement Since His Release From Prison | Live | N18G

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange To Make First Public Statement Since His Release From Prison | Live | N18G Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will make his first public statements since he was released from prison when he addresses the Council of Europe on Tuesday. Assange, 53, is expected to give evidence to the legal affairs and human rights committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.

How WikiLeaks Revolutionized Journalism

Julian Assange unleashed a revolution in journalism.

The work done by Julian Assange in exposing the truth cements his status as one of the most important journalists of our time, writes Dr John Jiggens.

ACCORDING TO Dr Suelette Dreyfus, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was the most original voice in 21st-Century journalism. She justified this claim by referencing the invention of the anonymous digital drop box that WikiLeaks and Assange pioneered, which allowed whistleblowers to transfer information to the public while preserving their anonymity. This invention was widely imitated by copycats like The New York Times and the ABC, who never defended Assange or his journalism, and treated his outrageous persecution as the normal outcome of a justice system.

Awards and Honours -Julian Assange Exhibition to Open at European Parliament in Strasbourg
See graphic of Assange’s awards.

Wikileaks In The Globalist Era

When Free Speech Dies, The Killing Begins shows that freedom of the press is not only a safeguard of truth, but is a critical protection for our very lives. The surveillance state in Communist China is a clear reminder of what awaits the West if we fail now to defend our God-given freedoms. The globalists at the World Health Organization, World Economic Forum, and United Nations propose equally draconian lifestyles. Farmers across Europe are under attack to make rooms for “15 Minute Cities” and to kill their cows so we can be forced to eat bugs. Not only is national sovereignty threatened, but our very humanity is at stake now as the globalists push a transhumanist agenda.

Imagine the impact if Wikileaks had been free to publish when the US had Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister of Britain, sabotage the Minsk Peace Accord in 2022! Perhaps Wikileaks could have ended the Russia-Ukraine war! If so, that would have saved many lives, saved the US billions of dollars, and kept the world from being pushed to brink of a nuclear war! See How Boris Johnson Sabotaged World Peace.

Wikileaks is a forum that can speak truth to power on a global scale. Never did humanity need a powerful defender more than it does now.

Generational Challenge For Internet Era

WikiLeaks, free speech and Assange’s message to Australia 5/3/13

Part 1 | Part 2 WikiLeaks has had a transformative effect on global politics and our attitudes to government power and responsibility. At this Melbourne event, headlined by an…

In the video above, Assange says,

The times we are going through at the moment constitute a generational challenge. The US Civil Rights struggles of the 1950s also constituted a generational challenge as did the peace movement of the late 1960s, feminist movement in different periods of the 20th century and the awakening environmental consciousness that has taken hold in recent years.

For the internet generation, this is our challenge and this is our time. We support a cause that is no more radical a proposition than that the citizenry has a right to scrutinize the state. The state has asserted its authority by surveilling, monitoring, and regimenting all of us – all the while hiding behind cloaks of security and opaqueness. Surely, it was only a matter of time before citizens pushed back and we asserted our rights.

This brings me to another point. We, at WikiLeaks, recognize the difference between secrecy and privacy. Individuals – not governments – have the right to privacy. Strong powers must be held to account while the weak must be protected. We believe in transparent power – not in transparent people. We publish material that is in the public interest. For us, as the European Court of Human Rights and the British Court of Appeal have held, the decisive factor in balancing the protection of private life against freedom of expression should lie in the contribution the material has to make to the debate of general interest….

There have been outrageous and illegal calls to have me and my staff killed — clear cases of incitement to violence. The Australian government has condoned this behavior by its diplomatic silence. I find it interesting that some politicians have no intention of applying the Precautionary Principles when it comes to the environment but assert it when it comes to our reporting. They conjure up hypothetical scenarios and claim that somehow, some day, our stories might somehow harm someone somewhere.

But we have a 4-year publishing history – a history of not harming a single individual anywhere. They provide no evidence of actual harm. So, I say to you that which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without argument. And it is interesting how some politicians single out my staff and myself for attack while saying nothing about the slaughter of thousands by the US military – or rather dictatorship – and saying nothing about other much wealthier powerful news organizations that publish material in partnership with us. It is cowardly to bully a small media organization, but that is what is happening here.

We are eternally grateful for your strong support in helping us stand up to the bullies. Julia Gillard should be taking active steps to bring me home and protect our people. He should be contacting the US embassy and demanding that it back off.

As for the future, we are as determined as ever. With your help and support, we’ll make our way through this storm and continue to publish and to how powerful and abusive organizations to account. I want to assure you that we will not mimic the timidity and subservience to power that some other media organizations have. If that is what it means to go mainstream, then we are happy staying where we are – at the front line of the truth. We will, as Don Chip dreamed, try to keep the bastards honest.

We have been deeply moved by the concern Australians have shown for us – but I ask that you turn your concern into action. Insist that the attacks on my organization and staff stop. Insist that I be allowed to return home. Insist that the Australian government come clean on all its interactions with foreign powers in relation to our organization.

Thank you for your goodwill. We will keep the faith with you and you will keep us strong.

For More Information

New Hate Speech Laws Scrapped in Ireland
The UN’s [Death] Pact for the [Globalist] Future
Brazil Leads Largest Free Speech Rally In History
German “Citizens Council” Wants to Criminalize Disinformation
Australia Crafts New Draconian Speech Bill Targeting ‘Misinformation’
The Ruling Elites Create an Orwellian Reinterpretation of Human Rights
America Should Jail People for “Misinformation” and “Propaganda” (???)
Telegram Backtracks, Will Provide Govts With User Data in Wake of Founder’s Arrest

Neenah Payne writes for Activist Post

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