Enormous win for Julian Assange, Journalism and Justice

I walked out of Keith Locke’s beautiful funeral to learn Assange had been freed.

A moment of justice in a dark world – Keith would have been proud…

Julian Assange pleads guilty at court hearing in Saipan

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to a single felony charge for publishing US military secrets, in a deal with the US justice department that is expected to secure his freedom and conclude an extraordinary legal saga.

The plea was entered Wednesday morning in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Pacific. Assange, who had flown to Saipan from London, arrived at court shortly before the hearing was to begin, wearing a dark suit with a tie loosened at the collar.

Assange was accompanied by Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Ruddand Australian high commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith. He was greeted by a hoard of foreign and local media, but did not stop to speak to the gathered press despite the questions being shouted at him, including whether he preferred the weather in Saipan to London.

The hearing is the culmination of the US government’s years-long pursuit of the publisher, who has been painted both as a hero of press freedom and a reckless criminal for exposing hundreds of thousands of sensitive military documents.

Inside the wood-panelled courthouse, at the foot of a lush hillside on Saipan’s coast, Assange told the court he pleaded guilty to the one charge against him. Asked by the judge to explain “what it is you did”, Assange said, “working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information.”

Assange said he believed the espionage act – under which he was charged – contradicted US first amendment rights, but that he accepted it was a violation and that it would be “difficult to win such a case given all the circumstances”.

In response, US government attorney Matthew McKenzie read out extensive details of the type of classified documents obtained by Manning and published by Wikileaks. McKenzie, deputy chief of the DOJ counterintelligence department, said Assange’s opinions of the first amendment and espionage act did not align with the facts.

“We reject those sentiments but accept that he believes them,” McKenzie said.

As someone who has been protesting for his release all this time, the actual moment of his freedom is a huge relief.

I worked with Julian Assange during the Moment of Truth Event I helped organise in 2014.

I was approached by a Feminist Protest Group and warned they were intending to interrupt the event and protest against Julian Assange who had been accused of rape.

I was very clear and loud at how outrageous that would be.

They backed down and Julian went on alongside Snowden and Greenwald to prove there was a CIA station in Auckland and that the NSA had the capacity to access everything in NZ.

Not only was mass surveillance occurring, it was sanctioned by the Government.

The rape allegations against him were a smear.

He exposed 15 000 war crimes!

He personally redacted 10 000 names to protect those sources.

He has been locked up for 5 years in solitary confinement.

Wikileaks changed journalism forever.

Assange has wrestled the Beast that is the American Military Industrial Complex and he has overcome.

He will be returned home a Hero.

This is a win for Journalism and Democracy.

Welcome home Comrade.