{"id":109225,"date":"2024-10-01T19:25:44","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T12:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109225"},"modified":"2024-10-01T19:25:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T12:25:44","slug":"julian-assanges-first-public-address-since-release-from-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109225","title":{"rendered":"Julian Assange\u2019s First Public Address Since Release From Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"topline-heading\">Topline<\/h2>\n<p>Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said he was forced to choose freedom over justice, in his first public remarks since agreeing to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" aria-label=\"plea deal\" rel=\"noopener\">plea deal<\/a> with the U.S. to end his nearly decade-long legal battle to avoid extradition to the country after he published classified military documents.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed-base image-embed embed-0\" role=\"presentation\"><figcaption><fbs-accordion class=\"expandable\" current=\"-1\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"color-body light-text\">WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks at the Autumn Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the <span class=\"plus\" data-ga-track=\"caption expand\">&#8230; [+]<\/span><span class=\"expanded-caption\"> Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/fbs-accordion><small>Anadolu via Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Key Facts<\/h2>\n<div class=\"key-facts\">\n<div class=\"key-facts-element\">\n<p>Assange on Tuesday told European lawmakers Tuesday: \u201cI am not free today because the system worked. I am free today [after] years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism\u2026 I pled guilty to informing the public.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"key-facts-element\">\n<p>The Wikileaks founder was addressing the human rights committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, saying he agreed to a plea deal as he \u201ceventually chose freedom over an unrealizable justice\u201d and that laws that should have protected him \u201conly existed on paper\u201d and were not effective in any \u201cremotely reasonable time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"key-facts-element\">\n<p>Assange said his plea agreement with the U.S. government prevents him from filing a case at the European Court of Human Rights or making a \u201cFreedom of Information Act request\u201d on the impact of the extradition request against him.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"key-facts-element\">\n<p>The Wikileaks founder said he hopes his testimony can \u201cserve to highlight the weaknesses of the existing safeguards, and to help those whose cases are less visible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"key-facts-element\">\n<p>Assange\u2019s address also raised alarm about the state of press freedom around the world, saying: \u201cI see more impunity, more secrecy, more retaliation for telling the truth and more self-censorship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><em>Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: <\/em><\/strong><em>We\u2019re launching text message alerts so you&#8217;ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day\u2019s headlines. Text \u201cAlerts\u201d to (201) 335-0739 or sign up <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/joinsubtext.com\/forbes\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/joinsubtext.com\/forbes\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/joinsubtext.com\/forbes\" aria-label=\"here\"><em data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/joinsubtext.com\/forbes\">here<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align\">Crucial Quote<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIt is hard not to draw a line from the US government\u2019s prosecution of me, it&#8217;s crossing the Rubicon by internationally criminalizing journalism to the chilled climate for freedom of expression that exists now,\u201d Assange said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align\">Key Background<\/h2>\n<p>Assange faced multiple charges in the U.S. since May 2019, linked to his website\u2019s release of confidential U.S. military documents and diplomatic cables. While attempting to extradite him from the U.K., American authorities alleged Assange breached espionage laws by helping former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning crack a U.S. Department of Defense computer in 2010. Assange, however, has argued that he was being targeted for Wikileaks&#8217; disclosure of war crimes and human rights abuses by the U.S. government. After a prolonged legal battle, Assange agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. government in June this year to secure his freedom. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" aria-label=\"appeared\" rel=\"noopener\">appeared<\/a> before a U.S. federal court in the Northern Mariana Islands\u2014a U.S. territory located in the Western Pacific\u2014and pled guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to national defense. He was sentenced to 62 months in prison\u2014which was covered by his incarceration at London\u2019s high-security Belmarsh prison while awaiting trial.<\/p>\n<p><fbs-ad position=\"inread\" progressive=\"\" ad-id=\"article-0-inread\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align\">Tangent<\/h2>\n<p>Assange attacked both the Obama administration and the Trump administration for their efforts to target him. He criticized the 2010 arrest of one of Wikileaks\u2019 whistleblowers, U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning, and alleged the U.S. government bribed one of his informers to \u201csteal our legal and journalistic work product.\u201d Assange said this \u201charassment\u201d of him and his colleagues was groundless, as \u201c President Obama\u2019s justice department chose not to indict me, recognizing that no crime had been committed.\u201d Addressing Trump\u2019s term, Assange called two of his appointees, former CIA Director Mike Pompeo and former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, as \u201ctwo wolves in MAGA hats.\u201d Assange accused Pompeo of launching a \u201ccampaign of retribution\u201d and drawing up plans to assassinate him after Wikileaks \u201cexposed the CIA\u2019s infiltration of French political parties\u201d in 2017.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subhead-embed color-accent bg-base font-accent font-size text-align\">Further Reading<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/24\/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-reaches-plea-deal-with-us-government-set-to-be-freed-from-prison\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/24\/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-reaches-plea-deal-with-us-government-set-to-be-freed-from-prison\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/24\/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-reaches-plea-deal-with-us-government-set-to-be-freed-from-prison\/\" aria-label=\"WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Reaches Plea Deal With U.S. Government\u2014Set To Be Freed From Prison\" rel=\"noopener\">WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Reaches Plea Deal With U.S. Government\u2014Set To Be Freed From Prison<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/antoniopequenoiv\/2024\/06\/25\/julian-assange-pleads-guilty-to-espionage-act-violation-effectively-ending-decade-plus-legal-saga\/\" aria-label=\"Julian Assange Pleads Guilty To Espionage Act Violation\u2014Effectively Ending Decade-Plus Legal Saga\" rel=\"noopener\">Julian Assange Pleads Guilty To Espionage Act Violation\u2014Effectively Ending Decade-Plus Legal Saga<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/siladityaray\/2024\/10\/01\/i-pled-guilty-to-journalism-julian-assanges-first-public-address-since-release-from-prison\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Topline Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said he was forced to choose freedom over justice, in his first public remarks since agreeing to a plea deal with the U.S. to end &hellip; 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