The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), comprising members from 46 national parliaments across Europe, has passed a resolution recognising Julian Assange as a political prisoner.
The Assange Campaign Australia has released a statement to supporters saying, ‘This monumental declaration is the direct result of your efforts for more than a decade.’
The day before PACE’s vote on the resolution, Julian Assange spoke publicly for the first time since his release in June from the UK’s Belmarsh prison.
‘I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism,’ he said.
‘I eventually chose freedom over unrealisable 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 European Court of Human Rights or even the Freedom of Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its extradition request.’
Unprecedented conviction
The Assange Campaign say that PACE’s resolution expresses deep concern that Julian Assange’s unprecedented conviction under the US Espionage Act has caused a chilling effect and a climate of self-censorship affecting all journalists and publishers.
‘This serves as a stark reminder that the pursuit of justice for Julian is not just about one individual — it is a critical fight for media freedom and the public’s right to know.’
The campaign says it is now pushing for a presidential pardon to achieve justice in the matter, while Mr Assange himself will now return to focusing on his recovery, having spoken already of the toll which years of isolation have taken on his mental and physical health.
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