WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says ‘pled guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed


WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange stated that he pleaded “guilty to journalism” in exchange for his freedom in his first public address since he reached a plea deal with the United States and was released from prison in the UK.

“I want to be totally clear: I am not free today because the system worked,” Assange stated at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in France on Tuesday. “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. I did not plead guilty to anything else,” he continued. “I hope my testimony today can serve to highlight the weakness, the weaknesses of the existing safeguards, and to help those whose cases are less visible, but who are equally vulnerable.”

Assange was imprisoned in Belmarsh, a maximum security facility in the UK for 5 years. Before that, he was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London hiding away from the wrath of the United States Justice Department which had charged him with 18 criminal counts related to his website posting classified materials that were provided to him. Before his plea deal, he faced a 175-year jail sentence. He ended up pleading guilty to one felony charge in exchange for time served.

The purpose of the PACE hearing and Assange’s testimony was to uncover if the UK, under US guidance, subjected him to inhumane treatment or cruel and unusual punishment while he was locked up.

“I was formally convicted by a foreign power for asking, for receiving and publishing truthful information about that power while I was in Europe. The fundamental issue is simple: journalists should not be prosecuted for doing their jobs. Journalism is not a crime. It is a pillar of a free and informed society,” Assange told lawmakers. “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 European Court of Human Rights or even a Freedom of Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its extradition request.”

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

 


Stay Updated with news.freeptomaineradio.com’s Daily Newsletter

Stay informed! Subscribe to our daily newsletter to receive updates on our latest blog posts directly in your inbox. Don’t let important information get buried by big tech.





Current subscribers:

Related Posts

Tropical Storm Rafael Public Advisory Number 23

…RAFAEL RAPIDLY WEAKENS TO A TROPICAL STORM…
Location: 24.8°N 89.9°W
Max sustained: 70 mph
Moving: WNW at 5 mph
Min pressure: 989 mb

Issued at 900 PM CST Fri Nov 08 2024

Hezbollah Targeted Israel’s Trump Heights The Day After Election

Hezbollah Targeted Israel’s Trump Heights The Day After Election

This week Hezbollah rockets targeted Israel’s Trump Heights settlement, a remote community in the central Golan Heights – which was taken from Syria after the Six Day War of 1967.

Iranian state media as well as a report in Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen indicated that Hezbollah specifically targeted Trump Height the day after he won the Tuesday US presidential election.

Via AFP

“Sirens sounded in Trump Heights as Hezbollah rocket attack targeted the Golan Heights on Wednesday,” an Israeli regional sources also said. “The attack came shortly after the election results were announced, indicating that Trump was the victor.”

The tiny Jewish settlement was named after Trump in 2019, during his first term, in acknowledgement of his declaring that the US recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

It was an ultra-controversial move at the time, given most of the rest of the world considers it “Israeli-occupied territory” belonging to Syria.

At the time of the attack sirens blared not just in Trump Heights, but across other locations of northern and central Israel.

But the “Trump Heights” designation has always been more about a PR move for the existing community to improve and expand, as the Associated Press explains:

But a large-scale influx of new residents never materialized after that 2019 ceremony, and just a couple dozen families live in Trump Heights, or “Ramat Trump” in Hebrew. Job opportunities are limited, and Israel’s more than yearlong war against Hezbollah militants in nearby Lebanon has added to the sense of isolation.

Trump’s election has inspired hope in the community that it will attract more members and also more funding for security improvements.

One resident observed that “President Trump’s return to the White House definitely puts the town in the headlines.”

It had also made big headlines when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went there for an unveiling ceremony in 2019. During that June 2019 ceremony, BBC noted that “Building work has yet to begin but a sign bearing Mr Trump’s name and US and Israeli flags was unveiled. However, it also noted that “Critics called the move a publicity stunt with no legal authority.”

Tyler Durden
Fri, 11/08/2024 – 18:00

You Missed

Tropical Storm Rafael Public Advisory Number 23

  • By NHC
  • November 8, 2024
  • 2 views

Hezbollah Targeted Israel’s Trump Heights The Day After Election

Hezbollah Targeted Israel’s Trump Heights The Day After Election

US to send contractors to Ukraine to maintain military equipment

US to send contractors to Ukraine to maintain military equipment

NICOLE RUSSELL: College girls standing up for fair play gives hope to younger athletes

NICOLE RUSSELL: College girls standing up for fair play gives hope to younger athletes

Hurricane Rafael Forecast Advisory Number 22

  • By NHC
  • November 8, 2024
  • 2 views

Hurricane Rafael Public Advisory

  • By NHC
  • November 8, 2024
  • 2 views