Julian Assange reflects on choosing 'freedom over justice' in first post-release address

Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblower media group WikiLeaks, told European lawmakers on Tuesday his guilty plea to US espionage accusations was necessary because legal and political efforts to protect his freedom were not sufficient.

"I eventually chose freedom over an unrealisable justice," Julian Assange said, in his first public comments since his release from prison, addressing a committee at the Council of Europe, the international body best known for its human rights convention.

Julian Assange, 53, returned to his home country Australia in June after a deal was struck for his release which saw him plead guilty to violating US espionage law, ending a 14-year British legal odyssey.

"I am free today after years of incarceration because I pleaded guilty to journalism, pleaded guilty to seeking information from a source, I pleaded guilty to obtaining information from a source and I pleaded guilty to informing the public what that information was," he said.

WikiLeaks in 2010 released hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the largest security breaches of their kind in US military history, along with swaths of diplomatic cables.

He was indicted years later under the Espionage Act.

A report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe concluded Assange was a political prisoner and called for Britain to hold an inquiry into whether he had been exposed to inhuman treatment.

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, his wife Stella Assange and Wikileaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson attend a hearing on Julian Assange's detention and conviction. REUTERS.

"I am yet not fully equipped to speak about what I have endured," he said.

"Isolation has taken its toll which I am trying to unwind," he added.

Speaking freely during a subsequent question and answer session, Julian Assange looked moved when he told lawmakers the plea deal meant he would be barred from ever bringing a case to defend himself against the US's spying accusations.

"There will never be a hearing into what happened," he said.

Asked about his plans, he said the Strasbourg hearing, aimed at raising awareness of the need to protect whistleblowers and informers was "a first step".

Adapting to normal life after years of imprisonment included some "tricky things", he said, like learning to be a father for two children who grew up without him and "becoming a husband again, including with a mother-in-law," drawing some laughter from the crowd.

Julian Assange was first arrested in Britain in 2010 on a European arrest warrant after Swedish authorities said they wanted to question him over sex-crime allegations that were later dropped.

He fled to Ecuador's embassy, where he remained for seven years, to avoid extradition to Sweden.

He was dragged out of the embassy in 2019 and transferred to London's Belmarsh top security jail for skipping bail.

Julian Assange's Plea Deal Brings End to 14-Year Legal Struggle

Earlier this year, Julian Assange’s guilty plea marked the conclusion of a 14-year legal battle that began when WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified US military and diplomatic documents in 2010.

These leaks, which exposed sensitive information on US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, were hailed by some as a victory for transparency and condemned by others as a threat to national security.

The US government pursued charges against Assange under the Espionage Act, leading to years of legal wrangling and his eventual detainment in the UK.

His release was the result of intense global efforts from a diverse coalition of supporters, ranging from grassroots activists to political leaders, who called for his freedom.

After serving five years in Belmarsh prison, Assange's agreement to plead guilty to conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US defense documents paved the way for his return to Australia.

His decision to accept the plea deal avoided further extradition battles and the possibility of a lengthy trial in the United States.

Following his release from Belmarsh prison, Assange boarded a private jet, with his flight plans kept under wraps.

His wife, Stella Assange, expressed immense gratitude to supporters, crediting the years-long mobilization of global activists for this moment.

Meanwhile, the Australian government remained cautious in its statements but reiterated that Assange's imprisonment had gone on for too long, with Prime Minister Albanese emphasizing that there was no benefit in continuing his incarceration.