Assange's Release June 2024 and beyond
Rarely do I post anything this short. The following video may shock you, even though there is not any of the usual drama in it. Do see, listen, and think.
A transcript is provided with the video at the margin. I have coped the same transcript here below, just in case this video one day is being removed, for reasons beyond normal behaviour.
In deep respect for the huge sacrifice Mr. Assange has given, please do think for yourself and reach your own conclusions.
Sincerely
David Svarrer
Transcript
0:00
Mr chairman esteemed members of the Parliamentary assembly of the Council of
0:06
Europe ladies and gentlemen the transition from years of
0:11
confinement in a Maximum Security Prison to being here before the representatives
0:17
of 46 Nations and 700 million people is a profound and a surreal
0:23
shift the experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey it strips
0:32
away one's sense of self leaving only the raw essence of
0:37
existence I am yet not fully equipped to speak about what I have
0:45
endured the Relentless struggle to stay alive both physically and mentally nor can I speak yet about the
0:53
deaths by hanging murder and medical neglect of my fellow prisoners
1:01
I apologize in advance if my words falter or if my presentation lacks the
1:06
Polish you might expect from such a distinguished Forum isolation has taken its
1:14
toll which I am trying to unwind and expressing myself in the setting is a
1:20
challenge however the gravity of this occasion and the weight of the issues at hand compel me to set aside my
1:28
reservations and speak to you directly I have traveled a long way
1:35
literally and figuratively to be before you today before our discussion or answering
1:42
any questions you might have I wish to thank pace for its 2020
1:49
resolution which stated that my imprisonment set a dangerous precedent for journalists and noticed that the UN
1:56
special reporter on torture called for my release also grateful for Pace's 2021
2:02
statement expressing concern over credible reports that us officials
2:08
discussed my assassination again calling for my prompt release and I commend the legal Affairs
2:14
and human rights committee for commissioning a renowned rapur Suna I
2:21
daughter to investigate the circumstances surrounding my detention and conviction and the consequent
2:27
implications for human rights however like so many of the efforts made
2:34
in my case whether they were from parliamentarians presidents prime
2:40
ministers the pope un officials and diplomats unions legal and medical
2:46
professionals academics activists or citizens none of them should have been
2:52
necessary none of the statements resolutions reports films articles
2:58
events f raises protests and letters over the last 14 years should have been
3:06
necessary but all of them were necessary because without them I never would have
3:11
seen the light of day this unprecedented Global effort was
3:18
needed because the legal protections of the legal protections that did exist
3:24
many existed only on paper were not effective in any remotely reasonable
3:31
time I eventually chose Freedom over unrealizable Justice after being
3:38
detained for years and facing 175e sentence with no effective
3:45
remedy Justice for me is now precluded as the US government insisted in writing
3:52
into its plea agreement that I cannot file a case at the European Court of Human Rights or
3:59
even a freedom Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its Expedition
4:05
request I want to be totally clear I am not free today because the
4:11
system worked I am free today after years of incarceration because I plad guilty to
4:20
journalism I plad guilty to seeking information from a source I plead guilty
4:25
to obtaining information from a source and I pleed guilty to informing the
4:32
public what that information was I did not plead guilty to anything
4:40
else I hope my testimony today can serve to highlight the weakness the weaknesses of the existing
4:48
safeguards and to help those whose cases are less visible but who are equally
4:55
vulnerable as I emerge from the dungeon of Bel Marsh the truth now seems less
5:01
discernable and I regret how much ground has been lost during that time
5:08
period how expressing the truth has been undermined attacked weakened and
5:15
diminished I see more impunity more secrecy more retaliation for telling the
5:22
truth and more self-censorship it is hard not to draw a
5:28
line from the US government's prosecution of me it's Crossing Crossing
5:35
the Rubicon by internationally criminalizing journalism to the chilled
5:40
climate for freedom of expression that exists
5:47
now when I founded wikip Peaks it was driven by a simple dream to educate
5:53
people about how the world works so that through understanding we might bring
5:58
about something better having a map of where we are lets us understand where we might
6:08
go knowledge empowers us to hold power to account and to demand Justice where
6:13
there is none we obtained and published truth about tens of thousands of hidden
6:20
casualties of war and other unseen Horrors about programs of assassination
6:26
rendition torture and mass surveillance we revealed not just when and where
6:32
these things happened but frequently the policies the agreements and the structures behind
6:38
them when we published collateral murder the infamous gun camera footage of a US
6:44
Apache helicopter crew eagerly blowing to Pieces Iraqi journalists and their
6:51
Rescuers the visual reality of Modern Warfare shocked the world but we also
6:56
used interest in this video to direct people to the classified policies for when the US military could deploy lethal
7:04
force in Iraq how many civilians could and how many civilians could be killed before gaining higher approval in fact
7:12
40 Years of my potential 175e sentence was for obtaining and releasing those
7:26
policies the Practical political vision I was left with after being immersed in
7:32
the world's Dirty Wars and secret operations is simple let us stop gagging
7:38
torturing and killing each other for a change get these fundamentals right and
7:45
other political economic and scientific processes will have space to
7:51
take will have space to take care of the rest [Music]
8:01
Wikileaks work was deeply rooted in the principles that this assembly stands
8:08
for our journalism elevated Freedom of Information and the Public's right to
8:13
know it found its natural operational home in Europe I lived in Paris and we had
8:20
formal corporate registrations in France and in iand our journalistic and
8:25
Technical staff were spread throughout Europe rep published to the world from servers
8:31
based in France in Germany and in
8:40
Norway but 14 years ago the United States military arrested one of our Alle
8:46
alleged wh whistleblowers private first class Manning a US intelligence analyst
8:52
based in Iraq the US government concurrently launched an investigation against me and
8:59
my my colleagues the US government illicitly sent planes of agents to Iceland paid
9:06
bribes to an Informer to steal our legal and journalistic work product and without formal process pressured Banks
9:14
and financial services to block our subscriptions and to freeze our
9:20
accounts the UK government took part in some of this
9:25
retribution it admitted at the European Court of human rights that had unlawfully spied on my UK lawyers during
9:32
this
9:38
time ultimately this harassment was legally groundless President Obama's justice
9:45
department chose not to indict me recognizing that no crime had been
9:50
committed the United States had never before prosecuted a publisher for publishing or obtaining government
9:58
information to do so would require a radical and
10:03
ominous reinterpretation of the US Constitution in January
10:09
2017 Obama also commuted the sentence of Manning who had been convicted of being
10:15
one of my sources however in February 2017 the landscape changed
10:23
dramatically president Trump had been elected here
10:30
appointed two wolves in Maga hats Mike Pompeo a Kansas congressman and former
10:37
arms industry executive as CIA director and William bar a former CIA officer as
10:45
us attorney general by March 2017 Wikileaks had
10:52
exposed the cia's infiltration of French political parties it's spying on French and German
11:00
leaders it's spying on the European Central Bank European economics
11:06
Ministries and its standing orders to spy on French industry as a
11:11
whole we revealed the cia's vast production of malware and viruses its
11:17
subversion of Supply chains its subversion of antivirus
11:22
software Cars Smart TVs and iPhones
11:29
CIA director Pompeo launched a campaign of Retribution it is now a matter of public
11:36
record that under pompeo's explicit Direction the CIA Drew up plans to
11:43
kidnap and to assassinate me within the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and
11:49
authorized going after my European colleagues subjecting us to theft
11:54
hacking attacks and the planting of false information
11:59
my wife and my infant son were also targeted a CIA asset was permanently
12:06
assigned to track my wife and instructions were given to obtain DNA from my six-month-old son's
12:14
nappy this is the testimony of more than 30 current and
12:20
former US intelligence officials speaking to the US press which has been
12:25
additionally corroborated by record seized in a prosecution fought against some of the CIA agents
12:32
involved the cia's targeting of myself my family and my associates through
12:37
aggressive extrajudicial and extr territorial means provides a rare insight into how
12:45
powerful intelligence organizations engage in transnational repression such repressions are not
12:53
unique what is unique is that we know so much about this one due to numerous whistleblowers
13:00
and to to judicial investigations in
13:09
Spain this assembly is no stranger to extr territorial abuses by the
13:15
CIA Pace's groundbreaking report on CIA Renditions in Europe exposed how the CIA operated
13:23
secret detention centers and conducted unlawful Renditions on European soil
13:30
violating human rights and international law in February this year the alleged
13:37
source of some of our CIA Revelations former CIA officer Joshua Schulte was
13:43
sentenced to 40 years in prison under conditions of extreme isolation his windows are blacked out
13:50
and a white noise machine plays 24 hours a day over his door so that he cannot
13:57
even shout through it these conditions are more severe than those found in
14:02
Guantanamo Bay but transnational repression is also
14:10
conducted by abusing legal processes the lack of effective
14:15
safeguards against this means that Europe is vulnerable to having its Mutual legal assistance and Expedition
14:22
treaties hijacked by foreign powers to go after dissenting voices in Europe
14:30
in Michael pompeo's Memoirs which I read in my prison cell the former CIA
14:35
director bragged about how he pressured the US attorney general to bring an expedition case against me in response
14:42
to our Publications about the
14:49
CIA indeed exceeding to pompeo's requests the US attorney general
14:56
reopened the investigation against me that Obama had closed and rearrested Manning this time
15:04
as a witness Manning was held in a prison for over a year fined
15:12
$1,000 a day in a formal attempt to coers her into providing secret
15:19
testimony against me she ended up attempting to take her own life
15:31
we usually think of attempts to force journalists to testify
15:37
against their sources but Manning was now a source being forced to testify against their
15:48
journalist by December 2017 CIA director Pompeo had got his way
15:55
and the US government issued a warrant to the UK for former Expedition the UK government kept the
16:02
warrant secret from the public for two more years while it the US government
16:08
and the new president of Ecuador mve to shape the political the legal and the
16:15
Diplomatic grounds for my
16:22
arrest when powerful Nations feel entitled to Target individuals beyond
16:28
their borders those individuals do not stand a chance unless there are strong
16:34
safeguards in place and a state willing to enforce them without this no individual has a
16:42
hope of Defending themselves against the vast resources of that a state aggressor
16:47
can deploy if the situation
17:03
if the situation were not already bad enough in my case the US government
17:08
asserted a danger Dangerous new Global legal
17:13
position only US citizens have free speech rights Europeans and other nationalities
17:21
do not have free speech rights but the US claims its Espionage
17:28
Act still applies to them regardless of where they are so Europeans in Europe must obey us
17:37
secrecy law with no defenses at all as far as the US government is concerned An
17:44
American in Paris can talk about what the US government is up to
17:50
perhaps but for a French man in Paris to do so is a crime with no defense and he
17:58
may be ex Ed just like
18:04
me now that one foreign government has forly asserted that Europeans have no
18:10
free speech rights a dangerous precedent has been set other powerful states will
18:17
inevitably follow suit the war in Ukraine has already seen
18:22
the criminalization of journalists in Russia but based on the precedent set in
18:28
My Expedition there is nothing to stop Russia or indeed any other state from targeting
18:35
European journalists Publishers or even social media users by claiming that
18:41
their domestic secrecy laws have been
18:49
violated the rights of journalists and Publishers within the European space are seriously
18:56
threatened transnational repr cannot become the norm here as one of
19:02
the world's two great Norm setting institutions Pace must
19:10
act the criminalization of news Gathering activities is a threat to investigative journalism everywhere I
19:17
was formerly convicted by a foreign power for asking for receiving and
19:24
Publishing truthful information about that power while I was in
19:33
Europe the fundamental issue is simple journalists should not be prosecuted for
19:39
doing their jobs journalism is not a crime it is a pillar of a free and informed Society
19:49
[Applause]
19:59
Mr chairman distinguished delegates if Europe is to have a future where the
20:04
freedom to speak and the freedom to publish the truth are not privileges enjoyed by a few but rights guaranteed
20:11
to all then it must act so that what is happened in my case never happens to
20:17
anyone else I wish to express my deepest
20:23
gratitude to this assembly to the conservatives
20:29
social Democrats liberals leftists greens and independents who have
20:35
supported me throughout this ordeal and to the countless individuals who have advocated
20:41
tirelessly tirelessly for my release it is heartening to know that in
20:48
a world often divided by ideology and interests there remains a shared commitment to the protection of
20:54
essential human liberties
21:01
freedom of expression and all that flows from it is at a dark Crossroad I fear that unless
21:08
institutions like Pace wake up to the gravity of the situation it will be too
21:14
late let us all commit to doing our part to ensure that the light of Freedom
21:20
never dims that the pursuit of truth will live on and the voices of the many
21:26
are not silenced by the interests of the few
21:31
[Applause]
21:54
thank you Mr Assange for that contribution tion to our
22:00
proceedings I will now open the floor to members of the committee I would remind everyone that
22:06
questions can only be raised by members of the committee of legal Affairs and human rights as I indicated before we
22:13
began I will allow one question from each member and give the floor back to
22:19
Mr Assange to reply to each of the questions Mr Assange we're not entirely
22:27
familiar with The Plea that you were made to enter into and if there are
22:33
questions asked which you feel it would not be appropriate to answer please don't hesitate to indicate and that will
22:40
be understood uh could I call upon Miss bear uh to ask a question thank you yeah
22:49
thank you very much uh for for being with us for for sharing your testimony
22:55
um as far as I understood um neither UK courts nor the the European Court of
23:02
Human Rights um get got any final decision in your case I on the one hand
23:08
I would like very personally to know how this feels for you and on the other case I would like to know whether you have
23:14
any suggestions uh systematically legally how cases like yours could
23:20
really be settled um in in a in a legal system that works correctly and properly
23:34
after 14 years detained in the UK including over 5 years in a Maximum Security Prison and facing 175e
23:43
sentence uh with the prospect of years more in prison before being able to uh
23:51
have a shot at the European Court of Human Rights I uh
23:59
accepted uh a plea offer from the United States that would Release Me from prison
24:05
immediately uh the United States insisted um
24:12
that I not be allowed to take a case in relation to what had happened to me uh
24:21
in relation to its extradition proceedings nor that I could even file a Freedom of
24:28
Information Act request uh on the US government uh to see what was
24:36
done there will never be a hearing
24:41
into what has happened um and that's why um it's so important
24:51
that uh Pace acts the uncertainty within Europe as to
24:58
the defenses that can be used by journalists here to protect themselves from transnational repression and
25:06
Expedition um if left in its current state will
25:12
inevitably be abused by other states so Norm setting institutions like
25:18
P Pace must move to make the situation
25:25
clear that what happened to me cannot happen happen
25:32
again thank you uh Miss
25:38
NOA uh Mr Assange it is great to have you today um at the committee uh meeting
25:46
um in fact I um I'm I don't want to ask
25:52
about the past more or less which P but past is still the um uh the
25:58
the current yeah it's not it's not finished yet of course but I wanted to
26:04
ask you whether you believe that our proceedings here in the Council of uh
26:10
Europe in case and hopefully the report pre prepared by sunnaas da is going to
26:17
be accepted at the plenary session that will reverse the negative impact that
26:23
your case had on the position of whistleblowers and the uh right to
26:30
expression uh globally that really you hope for that uh that in in case we the
26:39
report is um uh is going to be accepted uh um and your visit here to Parliament
26:48
will in a way will um have this positive um aspect and uh will improve the
26:56
situation in in this regard of the the rights of journalists and so on but my
27:02
um but also I would like to add how you visualize your life now after your case
27:09
I'm not asking very much about your private plans but in general what what
27:16
do you think what you are planning to do basically thank you well I think
27:24
that I I am here because I believe is an essential first step for Pace to act uh
27:32
to get the ball rolling uh to address the problems of
27:38
transnational repression and also to make it clear that National
27:46
Security journalism is possible within European
27:51
borders um as for my re adaptation to
27:58
the Big Wide World outside of house arrests and Embassy Siege and Maximum
28:05
Security Prison it sure takes some adjustment um it's not simply the spooky
28:14
sound of electric cars they are very spooky
28:20
um but it's the it is also the change in
28:28
the society the where we once produced
28:37
a important where he once released important war crimes
28:44
videos um that stirred public debate
28:49
now every day there are live stream Horrors from the wars in Ukraine and the
28:56
war in Gaza hundreds of journalists have been killed
29:03
in Gaza and Ukraine
29:10
combined the impunity seems to
29:16
mount and it is still uncertain what we can do about
29:21
it my readaptation to the world of course includes some
29:29
positive but still tricky things becoming a father again to
29:37
children who have grown up without me becoming a husband
29:44
again even dealing with a
29:50
mother-in-law these are trying family issues no she's she's a
29:56
very lovely woman I like her I like her very
30:04
[Laughter] [Applause]
30:15
much thank you Mrs Assange uh could I call upon Mr Klein
30:20
vaker please yes thank you Mr President uh back to a SAT issue um how well in
30:28
your experience does political Asylum really work in today's
30:37
world political Asylum is an absolutely
30:42
essential relief valve for human rights abusers within
30:48
states that people can leave a state that is persecuting
30:54
them not only saves individual lives
30:59
it provides a mechanism where journalists can continue to report on their societies after they
31:06
have been hounded out and ultimately the threat of people
31:12
leaving a state uh is what in the final analysis controls its
31:20
be Its Behavior um we have seen examples in
31:25
history of states that made it difficult or impossible for people to
31:31
leave and we can see how the situation for people living there
31:38
collapse there must be competition between
31:43
states to be good places for people to live and to
31:51
work the assault on Asylum through means of transnational repression is another
31:57
matter in my
32:03
case it was difficult to find a state that would give Asylum that I was able
32:08
to get to there is a big gap in the Asylum
32:16
system for [Music] people who are not fleeing their own
32:21
state by fleeing an ally of that state or or any third state that was my
32:32
case Asylum law does not easily cover the case
32:38
where say an Australian is fleeing persecution by the United
32:46
States or we could imagine a kazakhstani fing persecution
32:52
by Russia or China I was not able to apply for Asylum
32:58
within the UK of course the UK has its own particular political angle it might have
33:04
been difficult to convince the courts to give me or in
33:10
fact anyone asylum in relation to the United States in the UK but there wasn't
33:16
even a chance because citizens from third
33:21
States uh under the 1951 Convention as it's implemented in most
33:27
European States cannot apply for
33:33
Asylum thank you Mr Assange uh Mr hono would you like to ask a question please
33:39
thank you very much um Mr um I'm so happy to see you here to see Stella as
33:47
well um and thank you for reminding what uh Pace did in the last four years um
33:58
starting with the hearing we had in January 2020 with your father John chipton uh
34:05
with Neil Mela the UN General rapporter on torture and very uh important other
34:11
persons and three times uh I think this assembly made a clear position calling
34:17
for the prompt release uh and I think uh um this assembly can a bit be proud of it
34:25
because it failed in other internet AAL State organizations there were attempts as well in the European Union parliament
34:34
in the OS but none of those could uh um
34:40
had had enough courage to to to make a clear statement
34:47
um not enough geopolitical diversity sorry perhaps not enough geopolitical
34:52
diversity maybe maybe maybe um that's so
34:57
I'm I'm I'm very happy um uh maybe a question um
35:04
on uh the extra jurisic jurisic uh um
35:10
repression uh you you talked about in the end because this is one of the most shocking for me that there is a law in
35:18
the US on freedom of speech which is not uh for uh other citizens but there are
35:26
laws that can be applied to other citizens what could we do as
35:32
parliamentary assembly or uh as uh Council of Europe of European states to
35:38
counter this thank you Mr hun Mr
35:50
range in the final UK high high court case uh which I won
35:59
and the US uh appealed
36:07
against I W under the basis of nationality
36:13
discrimination that is in the UK Expedition act you're not meant to discriminate on uh at trial
36:21
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or during a penalty phase against someone on the basis of the nationality
36:36
the US tried different tricks to get around that in the UK system
36:42
and it was uncertain whether we whether I or the United States would
36:48
ultimately Prevail however there is nothing in the
36:55
European Charter that prevents nationality in relation to
37:03
extradition so this is a small protection it was hard to use within the
37:09
UK Expedition act but it's not clear that it exists in
37:16
most European
37:22
States thank you uh Miss uh mckinon
37:28
thank you Mr chair and thank you Mr aans that you are here uh Bas has done work
37:35
on transnational repression where States go after someone in another state in
37:43
this case in your case uh there are these very troubling allegations about
37:48
the CIA monitoring and even considering
37:54
assassination can you comment more on those and um how do you yourself see your
38:01
status uh were you a political
38:17
prisoner the first part of your question was about the CIA the second part was about do I see myself as a political
38:25
prisoner um answer the first one first yes I was a political prisoner
38:35
the political basis uh for the US government's
38:41
retributive acts against me was in relation to publishing the truth about
38:47
what the US government had done then in a formal legal Sense Once
38:53
the US proceeded with its legal
39:00
retribution uh it used the Espionage Act a classic uh political
39:09
offense uh in relation to the cia's
39:16
um campaign of transnational repression against
39:22
Wikileaks uh we felt that something was going on at the time there were there were many
39:30
small signs that came
39:36
together but
39:43
uh having a ominous feeling and
39:48
some subtly put tips from a whistleblower in one of the um
39:55
security contractors that this CIA had
40:01
contracted didn't give me the full and disturbing picture which
40:09
later emerged it is a interesting example
40:16
where an intelligence organization has targeted an investigative organization
40:25
Wikileaks um as a result
40:30
of our investigations a criminal case in Spain and in particular work done by us
40:41
journalists which under the precedent that has been established in my case
40:46
might well now be themselves criminal um detailed information about
40:55
the actions that the CIA took came out um those details involved the testimony
41:02
of more than 30 current or former US intelligence officials um a there are
41:10
two um resulting processes a criminal case in Spain with
41:19
a number of victims including my wife my
41:25
son people who came to visit me at the embassy lawyers journalists uh and a civil suit in the
41:32
United States against the CIA in the United States the CIA has in
41:39
response to that civil suit declared formly by the CIA director
41:45
and the Attorney General State Secrets privilege to knock out the case
41:54
the claim is that the CIA may have a defense but that defense is
42:03
classified and uh so that the case the civil case
42:09
cannot go forth so it's complete impunity uh within the US
42:16
system thank you uh Mr rakan could I invite you to ask a question
42:27
Mr Assange if you could go back in time would you do everything the same
42:35
and if not what would you do differently I'm not asking just in the terms of personal cost that you
42:42
suffered but also in terms of Effectiveness or impact of what you try to do thank
42:52
you this is a very deep question about Free
42:59
Will um why do people do things when they do
43:06
them looking back we were often constrained
43:13
by our resources a number of Staff
43:18
by secrecy uh that was necessary to protect our
43:25
sources and if I could go back and have a lot of
43:31
extra resources of course uh political
43:40
approaches media approaches uh could have maximized even
43:47
further the impact of the revelations that we made um but I suppose your question is
43:54
is trying to say or were there any knobs that could be turned in
44:01
hindsight uh of course thousands of small things
44:06
um I was not from the United Kingdom I had a good friend in the United Kingdom
44:13
Gavin mcfadin who is an American journalist um a very good
44:21
man but it took me time to when I once I was trapped in the United Kingdom it took me time to understand
44:29
what UK Society was about who you could trust who you couldn't trust
44:37
the different types of
44:46
um Maneuvers that are made uh in that
44:53
society and uh there are different Media Partners that
45:00
uh perhaps we U could have chosen
45:08
differently uh thank you uh Mr chope could I invite you
45:17
to you were the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by Sweden to what
45:25
extent do you think think that European arrest warrants are being used as tools
45:33
of repression and to what extent do you think the rules could be changed so that
45:39
they can no longer be used for that
45:44
purpose the European arrest warrant system was introduced post September 11
45:51
with the political rationale that it would be used for the fast transfer
45:58
of Muslim terrorists between European States the
46:05
first European arrest warrant that was issued was issued by Sweden for a drunk
46:12
driver we must understand that when we pick a disfavored group uh Muslims at that time
46:22
and say well this repressive legislation it's only going to be for them uh
46:31
inevitably um bureaucrats elements of the security
46:36
state will seize upon those measures and apply them more broadly Injustice to one person spread
46:44
soon enough to most
46:50
people I don't know the statistics on how often restuants are abused
46:57
um I was there was an attempt to exodite me without any charge from the United
47:03
Kingdom by Sweden um
47:09
the UK government subsequently changed the law
47:15
to prevent Expedition without charge but in its Amendment uh to the
47:20
Expedition legislation it included a writer to make sure that it didn't apply
47:26
to me [Music]
47:32
uh thank you uh Mr crookton could I invite you to uh address uh a question
47:38
to Mr Assange thank you thank you very much thank you very much Mr Assange for uh all the answers to many of our
47:44
questions uh I am like many of my colleagues here very happy to see you
47:50
here and uh knowing you out of prison uh you were in prisoned you said rightly for doing your job the job that we all
47:56
here expect you to do namely being a journalist you investigated and you published your findings but it is
48:02
shocking to me and to many of us to see how long the arm of Us justice is that can get a grip on you even here in
48:09
Europe and of course this raises questions that we will address tomorrow in Mrs Eva's excellent report but um can
48:17
I ask you a personal uh question were you aware before um uh all this were you
48:25
a aware of how little you your basic rights as a citizen but also as a journalist were protected uh in Europe
48:32
and what if I may add another question what do you think will be the effect on
48:38
journalism as a whole uh from your case thank
48:45
you we performed a legal analysis to understand what the
48:57
for publishing documents from a number of different countries including the United States
49:06
um we understood that in theory article 10 uh should
49:13
protect um journalists in Europe similarly looking at the US First
49:20
Amendment to its Constitution um that no publisher had
49:25
ever been prosecuted for publishing classified information from the United
49:31
States either domestically or internationally
49:40
um I expected some kind of harassment legal process I was
49:49
prepared to fight for that I believe the value of these Publications was such um that is okay to
49:57
have that fight and that we would Prevail because we had understood um what was legally
50:06
possible my naivity was believing in the
50:11
law um when push comes to shove laws are
50:18
just pieces of paper and they can be reinterpreted for political
50:24
expediency um they are the rules made by the ruling
50:32
class more broadly uh and if those rules don't suit
50:38
what it wants to do it reinterprets them or hopefully uh
50:44
changes them which is clearer um in the case of the United
50:50
States um we angered one of the constituent powers of the United
50:58
States uh the intelligence sector the security State
51:03
the secrecy
51:09
state it was powerful enough to push for a reinterpretation the US
51:20
Constitution us con the US First Amendment seems pretty black and white to me it's very short
51:27
uh it says that Congress shall make no law uh
51:32
restricting speech or the
51:44
Press how however that was uh that that
51:49
the US Constitution those precedence relating to it um
51:57
we just uh reinterpreted away and yes perhaps ultimately if
52:06
I it got into the Supreme Court of the United States uh and I was still alive
52:11
in that system um I might have won depending on what the makeup was of the US Supreme
52:21
Court but in the meantime um I had lost
52:29
14 years on the house arrest Embassy Siege and Maxim security
52:37
prison so I I think this is an important lesson that when a major power
52:47
faction wants to reinterpret the law it can push to have the element of
52:52
the State uh in this case the US Department of Justice do that
52:58
um and it doesn't care too much about what is legal um that's
53:05
something for a much later day in the meantime uh the deterrent effect that it
53:12
seeks the retributive actions that it seek seeks um have had their
53:20
effect uh thank you uh Mr Lee could I invite you to put a question to
53:27
Mr Assange thank you obviously there's very considerable sympathy uh for your
53:32
plight in this room I'd like to ask you about the position of the UK government
53:38
about the allegation that you were effectively a political prisoner but
53:43
presumably the the first your your first difficulty with the European arrest warrant was not on political grounds
53:49
with Sweden I'd like to ask you with your your comment on the quality of treatment of the extradition treaties
53:55
between the UK and the us and whether the UK is in fact Bound by them uh and
54:02
whether we have very little freedom of maneuver and I'd like to ask you about your treatment at bmarsh prison there's
54:08
an allegation of torture which is very serious nobody denies a b Marsh is an extremely unpleasant place but I'd like
54:14
to know a bit more about the evidence for
54:24
that and the US UK Expedition treaty is
54:30
one-sided um nine times more people are exited to
54:36
the United States from the UK than the other way
54:41
around the protections for US citizens being exed to the UK are
54:49
stronger
54:54
uh there is no uh need need to show a
54:59
primery case or Reasonable Suspicion even when the United States seeks to expedite from the UK it's a
55:06
allegation exibition system the allegation is alleged you do not even
55:11
have a chance to argue that it is not true all the arguments are based simply
55:18
upon is it the right person does it breach human rights that's it
55:26
that said I do not think in any way that UK judges are compelled to exodite most
55:34
people and particularly journalists uh to the United States
55:40
um some judges in the UK found in my favor at different stages in that
55:46
process other judges did
55:52
not but all judges um whether they are finding in my favor or
55:58
not in the United Kingdom showed extraordinary difference to the
56:04
United States um engaged in
56:11
astonishing intellectual back flips uh to allow the United States to have
56:20
its way um on my Expedition and in relation to
56:27
setting precedence that occurred in my case uh more broadly that's a to my mind a function
56:37
of the selection of UK judges the narrow section of British Society from
56:45
which they come their deep engagement with the UK
56:52
establishment and the UK establishment's deep engagement with the United
56:58
States um whether that's in the intelligence sector Bae the which is now the largest
57:05
arms Manu largest manufacturer in the United Kingdom a weapons company BP
57:12
shell um and some of the major
57:17
Banks the United Kingdom's establishment is made up out of people
57:25
who have benefited from that system for a long period of time um and almost all judges are from
57:32
it um they don't need to be told explicitly what to do U they understand
57:40
what is good for that cohort and what is good for that cohort is keeping a good
57:47
relationship with the United States government Bel thank you uh I Mr Mr Lee
57:57
as I indicated earlier one question from each member of the committee thank you uh uh Mr
58:04
afteron statue F statue F statue I
58:11
apologize I'm very glad and very happy seeing you free
58:17
man and um I think that one of the major lessons learned from your experience and
58:24
the treatment you had is that um the misuse of a legal
58:31
process the arbitrary application of a legislation May render it uh a mean or a
58:38
tool of repression or a an initation to
58:46
silence can I have uh your comments on that please
58:57
I didn't quite hear you can you please repeat the question and raise your hand I can't see
59:04
you yeah I mean what uh comes out from your experience and the treatment you
59:10
received is that um the misuse the arbitrary misuse or manipulation of a
59:18
legal process can or may render the application of a legislation or the
59:27
process a a tool a mean of repression and incitation to silence instead of
59:34
uniform application of of law in a rule of law Society can I have your comments
59:42
[Music] that lawfare is the use of the law to achieve
59:52
ends um that would normally be achieved in some other form of
59:57
conflict we're not talking about simply litigating to protect your rights um but
1:00:05
rather picking laws uh to get your man or to
1:00:13
get the organization you want to get uh not Justice seeking its
1:00:19
resolution in law we've seen a lot of cases like that
1:00:26
and obviously experienced ourselves ourselves in many different domains
1:00:33
um I'm not sure precisely what can be done about it there is
1:00:39
a anti-s slap movement in Europe um which I
1:00:47
commend uh slap is strategic lawsuits against public participation um there is good
1:00:53
legislation in California to deal with slap suits uh and to
1:01:02
reverse liabilities at an early stage uh and to make
1:01:08
um abusive lawsuits more expensive to conduct but I I
1:01:16
think we should understand a bigger picture which is that whenever we make a
1:01:23
law we create a tool that self-interested bureaucrats
1:01:32
companies and the worst elements of the security state will
1:01:38
use and will expand the interpretation uh in order to achieve
1:01:43
control over others and that's
1:01:49
why law reforms are constantly needed uh because laws are abused and expanded and
1:01:58
so it needs uh constant vigilance but also great care in making laws in the
1:02:05
first place because they uh will be seized upon and
1:02:11
abused thank you uh Mr bosich could I invite you to address a question to Mr
1:02:17
Assange thank you thank you chair Mr Sange uh your appearance here is very
1:02:26
important for the case you are symbolizing but it is also very important for the Council of Europe to
1:02:33
show itself as the independent institution and institution that
1:02:39
promotes really human rights and CS you represent I wonder uh how do you assess
1:02:48
uh support you got from the newspapers
1:02:54
journalists associ ations journalist associations and how does that how does
1:03:01
that what's the message about the freedom of press in your
1:03:08
case the support from um other
1:03:15
Publications journalist unions freedom of expression um
1:03:22
organizations uh was different at different stages the those who saw the
1:03:28
threat to everyone else and understood the case first um were the lawyers
1:03:33
involved in major Publications like lawyers for the New York Times
1:03:39
um freedom of expression NGS uh were the next to see the
1:03:46
threat of the larger media organizations unfortunately many of them
1:03:56
went with their political or geopolitical
1:04:06
alignment so it was easy to gain support
1:04:11
um from media organizations in neutral
1:04:17
States uh and obviously States hostile to United States
1:04:23
um allies of the United States took longer media organizations within the
1:04:29
United States um the journalists there not the lawyers but the journalists uh
1:04:35
took longer
1:04:41
still it is a concern and I I can see a
1:04:48
similar phenomenon happening uh with the journalist being killed in Gaza uh and
1:04:55
Ukraine that the political and geopolitical
1:05:00
alignment of media organizations uh causes them to not cover those
1:05:07
victims or cover only certain victims this is a breach of journalistic
1:05:15
solidarity uh we all need to stick together uh to hold the
1:05:21
line a journalist censored anywhere spread censorship which can then uh
1:05:27
affect us all similarly journalists being killed or targeted by intelligence
1:05:33
agencies um need our firm uh commitment in
1:05:39
writing or in broadcast um sometimes
1:05:46
there's uh a debate about whether someone is a journalist or an
1:05:51
activist I understand that debate um I've tried in my work uh to be
1:06:00
rigorously accurate I believe accuracy is everything primary sources are
1:06:06
everything um but there is one area uh where I am an activist and all
1:06:13
journalists must be an activist journalists must be activists for the truth
1:06:20
[Applause]
1:06:28
Journal journalists must be activists for the ability to convey the truth and
1:06:33
that means standing up for each other and uh making no apologies about
1:06:38
it thank you now could I invite any other member of the Parliamentary
1:06:46
assembly who is not a member of the committee to indicate if they wish to
1:06:51
ask a question and I can see two hands in the air could I invite you
1:06:58
first of all to give your name uh and then to ask your question Mr
1:07:04
Assange thank you thank you chair my name is Andy Christ I'm I'm a Romanian MP and I'm
1:07:10
also the general reporter for Science and Technology of this house um I'm also
1:07:17
the reporter on the so-called metaverse and Mr Assange I would like to ask you
1:07:23
how do you see this new technology Oles uh connected to what you have presented
1:07:29
so far thank
1:07:34
you I'm very interested in technology um I was a computer scientists from a young
1:07:42
age and studied mathematics and physics uh cryptography and it's with that
1:07:49
cryptography that uh we said about our system to protect sources and protect
1:07:54
our own organiz Iz ation um I
1:08:02
am um enthused about some of the developments that are happening with
1:08:09
cryptography some of those developments provide alternatives to what we see as huge Media power and concentration in
1:08:16
the hands of a few billionaires they are still
1:08:23
embryonic other technology emerged out
1:08:29
of the campaign against Mass surveillance uh the and the Big Bang was
1:08:35
the Snowden Revelations that radicalized engineers and
1:08:43
programmers uh in many places who saw themselves as agents of
1:08:50
History uh in including algorithms to protect uh people's
1:08:57
privacy uh including the communications between journalists and the sources
1:09:03
um on the other hand as I emerge from
1:09:08
prison I see that artificial intelligence uh is been
1:09:16
used to create Mass assassinations where before there
1:09:23
was a difference between assassination and warfare
1:09:29
um now the two are conjoined when where many perhaps the
1:09:36
majority of targets uh in Gaza um are bombed as a result uh of
1:09:44
artificial intelligence targeting the connection between
1:09:50
artificial intelligence and surveillance uh is important
1:09:58
important artificial intelligence needs information to um come up with targets or ideas or
1:10:13
propaganda and when we're talking um about uh the use of artificial
1:10:23
intelligence to conduct Mass assassination um surveillance data from telephones
1:10:30
internet uh is key to training those algorithms so there's
1:10:39
um a lot has uh changed some things have remained the
1:10:45
same there's a lot of opportunity um and a lot of
1:10:52
risk uh I'm still trying to understand where we are but hopefully
1:10:58
we'll have something more useful to say in due course thank you Mr Assange now there
1:11:04
was an indication from another member of the assembly could you please introduce yourself by name H thank you yes uh
1:11:13
thank you Mr chair my name is s d and I'm from Germany um member of the
1:11:18
Foreign Affairs someone who knows Julian since
1:11:23
2012 from the Ecuador Oran Embassy as the first Member of Parliament who has visited him so Julian I'm very happy to
1:11:30
see you as a free man now in Europe welcome and um I uh was just going to
1:11:39
ask you about the war crimes the US war crimes that you p uh published are still
1:11:45
unpunished still till today the journalists are dead and now there are
1:11:52
presumably new war crimes in the proxy war Wars such as in Gaza and currently
1:11:58
in Lebanon so my questions are how would you advise a journalist to deal with
1:12:05
this current situation first and the second is uh what do you think is the
1:12:13
role of parliamentarians in this regard thank you Mr Assange
1:12:27
I'm sorry I'm getting a bit tired but uh Kristen perhaps you want to take
1:12:34
the the one what's journalist do about
1:12:40
the well what can be done when we have horrible stories about uh targeted
1:12:46
killings where we have now have evidence of that in in in in in the wars it is
1:12:53
the reality of uh reporting on Wars is more severe than
1:12:59
ever before and it was bad it was bad in Iraq now it is even worse it is a horror
1:13:06
story it is hard to give out advice for these journalists how they can deal with
1:13:13
that situation the only thing we can call out at least is for an outcry and and
1:13:20
condemnation that this should be going on because we need information we need
1:13:25
this information uh there are no tools to uh to secure individuals in
1:13:34
Gaza that are being followed by drones and uh are being targeted in Mass
1:13:42
bombing uh there is a little defense on that but uh the outcry and the
1:13:47
condemnation should be there we should not be silent when this happen thank you
1:13:55