Virginia Fernández

"Journalists must be activists for the ability to convey the truth. That means standing up for each other and making no apologies about it" - Julian Assange, today at the Council of Europe

PRESS RELEASE: Julian Assange to Address Council of Europe Following Confirmation of his Status as a Political Prisoner On October 1, Julian Assange will arrive in Strasbourg to give evidence before the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which is scheduled to meet from 8.30am to 10am at the Palace of Europe. This comes following the release of the PACE inquiry report into the Assange case, authored by Rapporteur Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir. The report focuses on the implications of his detention and its broader effects on human rights, in particular freedom of journalism. The report confirms that Assange qualifies as a political prisoner and calls on the UK conduct an independent review into whether he was exposed to inhuman or degrading treatment. Sunna Ævarsdóttir serves as the General Rapporteur for Political Prisoners and is the Chair of the Sub-Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights within PACE's Legal Affairs Committee. She emphasises how Assange's case is a high profile example of transnational repression. The report discusses how governments employ both legal and extralegal measures to suppress dissent across borders, which poses significant threats to press freedom and human rights. Julian Assange is still in recovery following his release from prison in June 2024. He is attending this session in person due to the exceptional nature of the invitation and to embrace the support received from PACE and its delegates over the past years. PACE has a mandate to safeguard human rights and has repeatedly called for Julian Assange’s release when he was in prison. He will give testimony before the committee, which will also hear the findings that his imprisonment was politically motivated. The hearing marks Assange's first official testimony on his case since before his imprisonment in 2019. His appearance before Europe's foremost human rights and treaty-setting body emphasises the broader implications of his case. pace.coe.int/en/news/9578/co…