https://sputnikglobe.com/20241001/assange-plea-deal-with-us-precludes-appeals-to-top-european-rights-court-1120376441.html
Assange: Plea Deal With US Precludes Appeals to Top European Rights Court
Assange: Plea Deal With US Precludes Appeals to Top European Rights Court
Sputnik International
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said one of the conditions of his plea deal with the US was that he would not file a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the verdict.
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"I eventually chose freedom over unrealizable justice, after being detained for years and facing a 175-year sentence with no effective remedy. 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 a Freedom of Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its extradition request," Assange told a hearing in Strasbourg.The journalist gave testimony before the legal affairs committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).Assange argued that all legal defense mechanisms turned out to be ineffective and only existed on paper."The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey. It strips away one’s sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence," he stated, adding that "none of the statements, resolutions, reports, films, articles, events, fundraisers, protests, and letters over the last 14 years should have been necessary."WikiLeaks was founded on October 4, 2006, but rose to prominence in 2010 when it began to publish large-scale leaks of classified government information, especially from the United States.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240925/assange-to-testify-before-pace-human-rights-committee-in-first-appearance-since-prison-release-1120285009.html
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Julian Assange Testifies at PACE
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Julian Assange Testifies at PACE
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wikileaks founder, julian assange, european court of human rights
wikileaks founder, julian assange, european court of human rights
Assange: Plea Deal With US Precludes Appeals to Top European Rights Court
19:11 GMT 01.10.2024 (Updated: 19:23 GMT 01.10.2024) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Tuesday that one of the conditions of his plea deal with the United States was that he would not file a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to challenge the verdict.
"I eventually chose freedom over unrealizable justice, after being detained for years and facing a 175-year sentence with no effective remedy. 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 a Freedom of Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its extradition request," Assange told a hearing in Strasbourg.
"I pled guilty to journalism... to seeking information from a source... to obtaining information... to informing the public what that information was. I did not plead guilty to anything else," said Assange while noting that "It is hard not to draw a line from the US government’s prosecution of me... to the chilled climate for freedom of expression that exists now."
The journalist gave testimony before the legal affairs committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (
PACE).
Assange argued that all legal defense mechanisms turned out to be ineffective and only existed on paper.
"The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey. It strips away one’s sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence," he stated, adding that "none of the statements, resolutions, reports, films, articles, events, fundraisers, protests, and letters over the last 14 years should have been necessary."
"
Transnational repression cannot become the norm here... The rights of journalists and publishers within the European space are seriously threatened... The US government asserted a dangerous new global legal position: only US citizens have free speech rights. Europeans and others do not," he stated.
Assange was transferred to London's high-security Belmarsh prison in April 2019 on bail breach charges. In the US, he faced spying charges for shedding light on war crimes and human rights violations committed by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
WikiLeaks was founded on October 4, 2006, but rose to prominence in 2010 when it began to publish large-scale leaks of classified government information, especially from the United States.
