October 1, 2024 —Addressing the public for the first time since before his arrest in 2019, Julian Assange spoke today before the Legal and Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly about his prosecution, detention and imprisonment.
“I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today because after years of incarceration I pleaded guilty to journalism. I pleaded guilty to seeking information from a source”.
Assange gave a 15 minute testimony, which was followed by questions from the PACE’s Legal and Human Committee members and MPs from Council’s member-states.
In his address, Assange commented on his years of imprisonment.
“The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey; it strips away one’s sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence”
He highlighted that the terms of the plea deal preclude him from seeking justice.
“Justice for me is now precluded as the US government insisted in writing into its plea agreement that I cannot file a case at the ECHR or even a freedom of information act request over what it did to me as a result of its extradition request”
Speaking about his incarceration and conviction, Assange said that he hopes his this testimony can serve to highlight the weaknesses of the existing safeguards and help those whose cases are less visible.
Assange stressed that freedom of expression is today “at a dark crossroad.”
“I see more impunity, more secrecy, more retaliation for telling the truth and more self-censorship. It is hard not to draw a line from the US government crossing the Rubicon by internationally criminalizing journalism to the chilled climate for freedom of expression now.”
He concluded by saying that
“The fundamental issue is simple: Journalists should not be prosecuted for doing their jobs.
Answering a question from MP Yves Cruchten, if he was aware of how little his basic rights as a citizen but also as a journalist were protected in Europe, Assange said that his “naiveté was in believing in the law”.
“When push comes to shove laws are just pieces of paper and they can be reinterpreted for political expediency.
“… when a major power faction wants to reinterpret the law it can push an element of the state – in this case the US Dept. of Justice – to do that. It doesn’t care too much about what is legal.”
In a reply to MP Mladen Bosić about how he assess the support from other publications, journalists and freedom of expression organizations, Assange called for journalistic solidarity:
“We all need to stick together to hold the line. A journalist censored anywhere spreads censorship which can then affect us all. Similarly, journalists being killed or targeted by intelligence agencies need our firm commitment in writing or in broadcast.
“I have tried in my work to be rigorously accurate. I believe accuracy is everything. Primary sources are everything. But there is one area where I am an activist and all journalist must be activists. Journalist must be activists for the truth.”