John Rees - How Assange walked free

Sunday Papers Live: World News Section

The most significant freedom of the press case of the century, this is a first hand account of how Julian Assange walked free.

Julian Assange was freed in May this year after 5 years in Belmarsh prison. Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks through which revealed critical public interest material about the conduct of the Afghan and Iraq wars. He was jailed while awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings to the US which could have resulted in jail sentences adding up to 175 years. After the UK courts granted his right to a full appeal, the US government agreed a deal which allowed him to leave prison. This was the most significant freedom of the press case of the 21st century so far and it ended in a decision which will echo down the years as a precedent for whistle-blowers and journalists. This is a first hand account of how Julian Assange walked free.

John Rees is a writer, broadcaster, and campaigner. He was the national coordinator of the Free Assange campaign in the UK from 2019 until earlier this year, when Julain Assange was set free. John is a member of the National Union of Journalists. He writes a monthly column for Middle East Eye and is a Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. His most recent book is The Leveller Revolution, a study of the radicals in the English Revolution of the 1640s. He is a co-founder of the Stop the War Coalition.