The United States seeks to restrict freedom of speech everywhere, this must be opposed, Jennifer Robinson, an Australian human rights lawyer and member of the legal team of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, said.
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“The United States seeks to exercise blanket jurisdiction over all of you without providing you with constitutional protections for free speech, and anyone who cares about free speech and democratic accountability must oppose this,” Robinson said, speaking to the press after Assange’s trial.
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She added that her team will “continue to fight” for Assange and his rights.
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Assange was released from a British prison on the morning of June 24 after he agreed with American prosecutors on a partial plea of guilty. This confession allowed him to be released after the five years that the journalist had already spent behind bars. The Northern Mariana Islands court sentenced the Wikileaks founder to time already served and released him, indicating that the case was closed.
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Assange’s release was previously welcomed by the presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua. The International Federation of Journalists called this event a victory for journalists around the world.
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Australian journalist Assange gained worldwide fame in connection with his work on the Wikileaks website, founded for the purpose of publishing secret documents. In 2010, the site made public secret video footage of the US military, which showed how at least 18 civilians were killed after a US Air Force helicopter attack in Baghdad in 2007. In 2010, the site also began publishing 250,000 American diplomatic documents.
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In the United States, the founder of Wikileaks was charged with 18 criminal charges, on which he faced a total of up to 175 years in prison in connection with the disclosure of the largest array of classified information in the history of the country.
