Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ to secure his freedom in first public remarks since leaving prison

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has made his first public remarks since his release after he struck a deal with the United States, saying he is free because he pleaded “guilty to journalism.”

The 53-year-old on Tuesday traveled to the French city of Strasbourg to appear before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and provide evidence on his detention and conviction, and on their effects on human rights.

“I want to be totally clear: I am not free today because the system worked,” Assange told lawmakers. “I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.”

Assange was released in June after agreeing to plead guilty to a single felony charge in exchange for time served. The deal was finalized in a remote US court in the Pacific before he flew on to his native Australia.

He had been locked up in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison for five years and sought refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in the British capital for nearly seven years before that, in a bid to avoid potentially spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Before his deal with the US Justice Department, the Australian had been facing 18 criminal charges related to his organization’s dissemination of classified material and diplomatic cables, and a 175-year jail sentence.

Assange, accompanied by his wife Stella and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, appeared calm and at ease during his roughly 20-minute statement on Tuesday.