For greater than a decade Julian Assange has been hidden away – for seven years he was confined to the Ecuadorian embassy in London, refusing to return out in case he was arrested – till he was lastly eliminated and detained in Belmarsh jail. In a small cell for 23 hours a day he confronted prices that, had he been extradited and convicted, would carry a sentence of as much as 170 years in a US jail. However now lastly, and out of the blue, he’s being freed.
A plea take care of the US Justice division has decreased his 18 prices to 1 – carrying a sentence of 5 years. And the time he has spent in jail permits him to be freed by the courtroom instantly. Lastly, he can see his household in his house nation of Australia.
However, explains Julian Borger, the deal is a harmful one for journalists. Michael Safi hears how Assange is being prosecuted underneath the US Espionage Act – a legislation that goes again greater than 100 years. Utilizing it towards somebody who has disseminated categorised info may make it simpler to make use of such a legislation towards investigative journalists sooner or later. Will this set a worrying precedent?
{Photograph}: WIKILEAKS/AFP/Getty Pictures
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