Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblower media group WikiLeaks, told European lawmakers on Tuesday, that 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 unrealizable justice,” Assange said, in his first public comments since his release from prison.
“I am free today after years of incarceration because I pleaded guilty to journalism, pleaded guilty to seeking information from sources, I pleaded guilty to obtaining information from a source and I pleaded guilty to informing the public”, he added.
Assange was addressing the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights at the Council of Europe, the international organization best known for its human rights convention.
“I am yet not fully equipped to speak about what I have endured,” he said, adding: “Isolation has taken its toll which I am trying to unwind.”
The most controversial leaks by WikiLeaks featured classified US military documents and videos from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early to mid-2000s that it said highlighted issues such as abuse of prisoners in US custody, human rights violations, and civilian deaths.
US authorities said the leaks were reckless, damaged national security, and endangered the lives of agents.
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.
