Assange's lawyers hail Saipan court decision in espionage case, thank supporters

The Star

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s lawyers hailed his release on Wednesday (June 26) after he pleaded guilty to violating a US espionage law in a deal that allowed him to go home to Australia. Chief US District Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted Assange’s guilty plea and released him due to time already served in a British jail.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00How does it feel to be a free man, Mr. Assange?

00:03Congratulations!

00:05How do you feel about the sentence, sir?

00:07Quick comment about the sentence.

00:11What's your message to journalists around the world today, Mr. Assange?

00:15Do you think justice was served today?

00:19The prosecution of Julian Assange is unprecedented.

00:23In the hundred years of the Espionage Act,

00:26it has never been used by the United States to pursue a publisher, a journalist, like Mr. Assange.

00:34Mr. Assange revealed truthful, important, and newsworthy information,

00:40including revealing that the United States had committed war crimes.

00:44And he has suffered tremendously in his fight for free speech, for freedom of the press,

00:52and to ensure that the American public and the world community gets truthful and important, newsworthy information.

01:01We firmly believe that Mr. Assange never should have been charged under the Espionage Act

01:06and engaged in exercise that journalists engage in every day, and we're thankful that they do.

01:13It is appropriate, though, for this fight to end,

01:16it is appropriate for the judge, as she did today,

01:19to determine that no additional incarceration of Mr. Assange would be fair, would be appropriate,

01:27and it is time for him to be reunited with his family.

01:30WikiLeaks' work will continue, and Mr. Assange, I have no doubt,

01:36will be a continuing force for freedom of his speech and transparency in government.

01:43He is a powerful voice and a voice that cannot and should not be silenced.

01:48Mr. Assange is grateful for all of the support that he has received

01:53and looks forward to reuniting with his wife and his children and getting back home to Australia.

02:00Thank you.

02:01Today is a historic day.

02:03It brings to an end 14 years of legal battles,

02:06and finally, after 14 years of legal battles, Julian Assange can go home a free man.

02:12This also brings to an end a case which has been recognized

02:17as the greatest threat to the First Amendment in the 21st century.

02:21So it is a huge relief to Julian Assange, to his family, to his friends, to his supporters,

02:26and to us, and to everyone who believes in free speech around the world,

02:30that he can now return home to Australia and be reunited with his family.

02:37I come here today, I support Julian Assange.

02:40I support his journey for freedom and his expression,

02:47to look past the, I want to say, first layer, what we see.

02:51He's bringing something to the people.

02:54It's really hard to take sides considering what's involved.

02:59Stealing secret documents, yet exposing corruption.

03:05It's a fine line, you know, between is he good or bad.

03:09But on the whole, I think he's good.

03:12I think it's good for the people, you know.

03:15Government doesn't like it, but I do.

03:19You know, he's a journalist. It's his job to find things,

03:22and it's his job not to review his sources. We all know that.

03:26But because certain politicians or what have you in the mainland got caught in the wrongdoing,

03:32which probably is Hillary Clinton, because she's pretty good about these things,

03:36they've been following that, and it's been really, I think, a total injustice of what's happened.

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Transcript

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