France Council of Europe: Julian Assange was a political prisoner

The Council of Europe classifies Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as a political prisoner. In a resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council in Strasbourg referred to the serious accusations made by the USA against Assange with a possible life sentence "for what essentially consisted of the collection and publication of news".

The assembly called on the USA to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations uncovered by Assange and Wikileaks. The handling of Assange has had a "dangerous chilling effect" that undermines the protection of journalists and whistleblowers around the world.

The Assembly accused the British authorities of failing to effectively protect Assange's right to freedom of expression and liberty. Despite the political nature of the allegations against Assange, they had subjected him to unacceptably long detention.

The Council of Europe, to which 46 states belong and which is independent of the EU, had repeatedly addressed Assange's human rights situation in the past.

From 2010 onwards, Wikileaks published secret material from whistleblower Chelsea Manning on US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The USA accused Assange of putting the lives of US whistleblowers at risk. Assange's supporters, on the other hand, see him as a courageous journalist who brought war crimes to light. Assange holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years before he was taken into custody for extradition in 2019. Assange was unexpectedly released at the end of June and returned to Australia.