After five years of condemning the imprisonment of Julian Assange and calling for his release, Amnesty International reacted “with satisfaction” to the news that “this ordeal is coming to an end.”
Amnesty International reacted this Tuesday “with satisfaction” to the “positive news” of the release of the founder of the Wikileaks digital portal, Julian Assange, from a high-security prison in the United Kingdom, where he had been imprisoned since 2019.
“Amnesty International welcomes the positive news that Julian Assange has finally been released from British state custody after five years in prison, and that this ordeal is coming to an end for him and his family,” Amnesty said. International. Agnès Callamard, in a statement.
“We firmly believe that Julian Assange should never have been arrested and have continually called for the charges to be dropped,” Callamard added, referring to the 1,901 days he spent in the high-security Belmarsh prison while awaiting the outcome of his extradition case to USA. United States, who wanted to try him for 18 crimes of espionage and computer intrusionfor having disseminated secret documents that in 2010 and 2011 exposed human rights violations committed by the US army in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It was about one of the largest leaks of confidential information in US historywhich revealed secrets about US diplomatic and military activities during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as data on detainees at the Guantánamo base, among other matters.
“The fact that the US authorities have committed for years to violating freedom of the press and freedom of expression, setting an example for Assange for denouncing alleged war crimes committed by the United States, has undoubtedly caused historic damage,” he highlighted. the head of the non-governmental organization for the defense of human rights.
Washington wanted to try Assange for revealing more than 700,000 confidential documents and he was charged under the Espionage Act of 1917, facing up to 175 years in prison, but on May 20 the High Court in London allowed him to appeal. extradition. ordered from the UK to the US.
This Tuesday, the Wikileaks portal announced that Julian Assange, 52, was released on Monday morning and transported to Stansted airport, where he boarded a plane, after an agreement with the US Court, according to which he agreed to plead guilty to one of the crimes: conspiracy to illegally obtain and disclose confidential information relating to the Defense and National Security of the States. Joined. State.
Assange will appear on Wednesday before a court in the Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, to finalize a He reached a plea agreement with the United States Department of Justice and will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, a sentence he already served in pretrial detention in London.a decision that will allow him to return to his home country, Australia.
“Amnesty International salutes the work of Julian Assange’s family, activists, lawyers, press freedom organizations and many other members of the media community and beyond who have supported him and defended the fundamental principles that should govern the right of society. and access to information and justice. We will continue fighting for its full recognition and respect for all,” concluded the Secretary General of Amnesty International.
Source: Observadora
