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La Jornada Newspaper
Thursday, October 3, 2024, p. 25

Strasbourg. The legal process against Julian Assange, founder of Wikileakshad political reasonsestimated the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in a resolution adopted yesterday.

Assange attended the debate in Strasbourg, northeastern France, raising a fist while smiling after the adoption of this resolution, by 88 votes in favor and 13 against, of 121 voters.

The Australian, 53, spent 14 years in detention, first in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and then in Belmarsh prison, near the British capital, from where he was released in June under an agreement with the United States justice system. Joined.

The PACE, made up of elected representatives appointed by the parliaments of the 46 member states, effusively celebrates Assange’s release and the fact that he has been reunited with his familydictates the resolution.

However, it continues deeply concerned about the treatment of Julian Assange and fears that these measures “generate a deterrent effect and a climate of self-censorship for all journalists.

If you look at the definition of a political prisoner, Julian Assange and his case fit this definitiondeclared Thorhildur Sunna Aevarsdottir, of the Pirate Party, during the debate based on a report presented by this Icelandic representative.

In 2010, Assange published hundreds of thousands of classified documents on US military and diplomatic activities, as well as accounts of extrajudicial executions and intelligence gathering against Washington’s allies.

In June, Assange pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with US justice that allowed him to regain his freedom, after which he returned to Australia.

The Council of Europe is an organization of 46 countries not linked to the European Union and dedicated to promoting human rights on this continent. The pan-European institution firmly opposed Assange’s extradition to the United States.

During an appearance on Tuesday before a Council of Europe commission, Julian Assange insisted that he is free because he declared himself guilty of having done journalism.

The resolution adopted yesterday calls for reform of the US espionage law and greater protection for whistleblowers.