WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will make his first public appearance since his release from a U.K. prison, addressing the Council of Europe next week to discuss his case and its broader implications, The Hill reported.
The organization announced on Tuesday that Assange will provide testimony to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Oct. 1 in Strasbourg.
Assange, 53, was recently identified as a political prisoner in a PACE report, which highlighted his "lengthy detention in a high-security prison despite the political nature of the most severe charges against him."
His upcoming appearance follows his release after reaching a plea deal with the Department of Justice, in which he pleaded guilty to one felony count under the Espionage Act in June.
"Julian will be in Strasbourg next week on October 1st. It will be an exceptional break from his recovery as @COE invited Julian to provide testimony for the JUR Committee’s report into his case and its wider implications," his wife, Stella Assange, posted on X.
Assange's case has been a point of international contention since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2019 and subsequently detained in the high-security Belmarsh Prison. His arrest followed charges of aiding U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in the theft and release of classified military documents and diplomatic cables, which were published by WikiLeaks.
Prosecutors argued that the publication of these documents, which included details about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, posed risks to the lives of those involved.
Following his removal from the Ecuadorian Embassy, Assange faced multiple legal challenges and spent four years in Belmarsh Prison before securing his release through a plea agreement with U.S. authorities. The agreement, which included a guilty plea to a single felony count, allowed Assange to return to his home country of Australia.
Assange's legal saga began in 2010, when WikiLeaks published a trove of U.S. diplomatic cables and military documents. He initially sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations, which he denied and were later dropped.
Despite the dismissal of those charges, Assange remained in the embassy due to concerns about potential extradition to the U.S. to face charges related to WikiLeaks' activities.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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