REACTIONS TO NEWS OF JULIAN ASSANGE’S PLEA DEAL AND RELEASE:
“I feel elated… I also feel worried … Until it’s fully signed off, I worry, but it looks like we’ve got there…We will be seeking a pardon, obviously, but the fact that there is a guilty plea, under the Espionage Act, in relation to obtaining and disclosing national defence information is obviously a very serious concern for journalists.” – Stella Assange, Assange’s wife
“Regardless of the views that people have about Mr Assange (and) his activities, the case has dragged on for too long. There is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.” – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
“Julian Assange faced a prosecution that had grave implications for journalists and press freedom worldwide. While we welcome the end of his detention, the US’s pursuit of Assange has set a harmful legal precedent by opening the way for journalists to be tried under the Espionage Act if they receive classified material from whistleblowers. This should never have been the case.” – Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists
“Millions of people who have been advocating for Julian … it is almost time for them to have a drink and a celebration.” – Gabriel Shipton, Assange’s brother
“Good news that Assange is apparently free. Enough was enough. But his treatment was a warning to journalists and whistleblowers to keep quiet in future. And I suspect it will have worked.” – Alan Rusbridger, former editor of the Britain’s Guardian newspaper, which worked with WikiLeaks to publish some of the leaked material
“Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration’s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonours the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and their families.” – former US vice-president Mike Pence, who served under Donald Trump when the charges were brought against Assange
“I can only say that I am very happy that this case, which was discussed very emotionally all over the world and moved many people, has finally found a solution.” – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock
“It’s a victory for a global community that asked for his liberation, convinced that in his battle and in his resistance lay the essence of the most profound freedom of expression and the sacrosanct right to information.” – Giuseppe Conte, leader of Italy’s 5-Star Movement and former prime minister
