THE WIFE AND legal team of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, have said his conviction of espionage, that he took to secure his freedom, sets a “precedent that can be used against the rest of the media”.
Assange, who from 2010 published hundreds of thousands of confidential US documents on a wide-range of issues, including evidence of alleged war crimes committed by the US military, faced charges of espionage for his news-gathering work that he and his team argue was within the public interest.
Yesterday, after years in hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London and later in prison in the UK awaiting his US-based trial, the whistleblower and journalist was freed after a plea deal allowed him to leave after accepting an espionage conviction.
Speaking at a press conference shortly after his arrival in Canberra, Australia this morning his wife, Stella, and his lawyers said while it was a relief to have Assange back home, the conviction sets a dangerous precedent for journalists and media.
“It’s important that journalists all around the world understand the dangerous precedent that this prosecution has set,” Jennifer Robinson, Wikileaks’s lawyer, told reporters.
“An award-winning Australian journalist, who’s been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his publications, has spent more than five years in a high-security prison because of this extradition request in the United States.”
Assange’s plea bargain saw him plead guilty to one count of violating the US Espionage Act, which makes it an offence to spread information with the intent to interfere with the operation or success of the US military or to promote its enemies.
His legal team have argued that the use of this act to convict Assange was wrong and believe the information published to Wikileaks fell within public interest and their constitutional rights to free speech in the US.
Assange’s US-based lawyer Barry Pollack also confirmed that there were no additional restrictions in the deal, such as so-called ‘gagging orders’, and that the US Government has said it will not be pursuing any further charges, criminal or otherwise, in relation to any future publishings.
Though Assange did take a guilty plea as part of the bargain, his lawyers today remained adamant that the editor did not do anything wrong and accused the US Government of using the law in a harmful manner.
Pollack said: “It is unprecedented in the United States to use the Espionage Act to criminally prosecute a journalist or a publisher.
“In the more than 100 year history of that law, it has never been used in this fashion. It is certainly our hope that it will never again be used in this fashion,” he added.
Asked about why some world leaders have shared some mixed opinions on the actions of the Wikileaks founder over the last number of years, Robinson told reporters that there should not be any question if it was right or wrong to publish the information.
She claimed that the US Government in court had said there was “no evidence” of any harm being done by the publishing of the information. She argued that there is interest among the public to know of potential war crimes being committed by a Government.
Robinson also pointed to Assange’s career as an activist and peace broker, for which he has been awarded for and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on many occasions.
The activist was not present at the press conference. His wife Stella told reporters that she was glad that he was back home in Australia again and that he needed time to recover and space to enjoy his freedom once again.
She said: “He needs time. He needs to recuperate. And this is a process. I ask you, please, to give us space, to give us privacy, to find our place, to let our family be a family, before he can speak again at a time of his choosing.”
Asked if Assange will be returning to his work with Wikileaks, Stella said that it was too “premature” to tell what he may do in the coming months, adding that he “will always defend human rights and defend victims”.
Robinson, Pollack and Stella all took time to thank Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who they said helped in the negotiations to free Assange.
Both of his lawyers also told reporters that Assange and Albanese had had a short conversation over the phone after he had landed back in Australia. They did not say if the two would meet in person any time soon.
The Australian Prime Minister told local media before Assange’s arrival this morning that the news of his release was a “welcome development” but would not be making any commentary until the proceedings were over.
He added: “This isn’t something that has happened in the last twenty-four hours. This is something that has been considered, patient, worked through in a calibrated way, which is how Australia conducts ourselves internationally.”
Speaking to the same tune during the press conference this afternoon, Pollack said: “The negotiations were a protracted process, that went on for several months – sort of in fits and starts.
“We were not close to any sort of a resolution until a few weeks ago when the Department of Justice reengaged and there have been very intense negotiations over the last few weeks.
“One thing we were very clear about was that any resolution would have to end this matter and that Julian would be free. He was not going to do additional time in prison, he was not going to do time under supervision, he was not going to do time under a gag order. So that was one absolute requirement,” he added.
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