Julian Assange: Stella Assange says WikiLeaks founder needs time to ‘let our family be a family’ before speaking publicly – as it happened

Stella Assange says the case was an attack on journalism and the public’s right to know.

I think it’s important to recognise that Julian’s release and the breakthrough in the negotiations came at a time when there had been a breakthrough in the legal case in the UK, in the extradition, where the High Court had allowed permission to appeal.

There was a court date set for the 9th and 10th of July - an upcoming court date in which Julian would be able to raise the first amendment argument at the high court. And it is in this context that things finally started to move.

I think that it revealed ... how uncomfortable United States government is, in fact, of having these arguments aired, because this case – the fact is that this case is an attack on journalism.

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Stella Assange is choking up, she says her family needs space and privacy.

Julian wanted me to sincerely thank everyone. He wanted to be here. But you have to understand what he’s been through. He needs time. He needs to recuperate. And this is a process. I ask you – please – to give us space, to give us privacy. To find our place.

To let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing.

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Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, is speaking now. She is thanking everyone who helped and supported the campaign to free Julian Assange.

I wish to thank prime minister Albanese, the officials who have been working in DFAT on securing Julian’s release.

I’d also like to thank the Australian people who have made this possible, because without their support, there would not be the political space to be able to achieve Julian’s freedom. And that support is across-the-board. I thank the opposition for also supporting Julian’s release.

It took all of them, all of them... It took millions of people. It took people working behind the scenes, the people protesting on the streets for days and weeks and months and years.

And we achieved it.

OK, now lawyer Barry Pollock (one of the leading trial lawyers in the US) is up and he is talking about the plea deal. He says the prosecution should never had been brought.

It was definitely in the public’s interest to have this information and Julian provided it to the public. He performed a tremendous public service. There is no First Amendment defence in the Espionage Act.

It does by its terms, not matter the reason why you publish. For years, the US government has claimed that these publications did great harm.

Today in court, the United States government admitted that there is not a single person anywhere that they could produce that was actually harmed by these publications.

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Robinson:

Julian is incredibly grateful for the support that he’s had from the Australian government and from the public here in Australia. And we’re delighted that he’s home.

He’s finally home.

Robinson has thanked the PM, Kevin Rudd, his legal team including Barry Pollack, Stephen Smith, embassy staff and others:

That Julian came home today is the product of 14 long years of legal battles, political advocacy and ongoing campaigning - not just by us, but by so many people in this community.

A global movement was created around Julian and need to protect free speech and it is that global movement that led to his release today.

I really want to thank everyone who has joined us in this fight, who have supported us along the way, because without that support and the campaigning that’s been done, we just wouldn’t be in this position.

Robinson said Assange told the PM he ‘saved his life’:

We are absolutely thrilled that Julian is now home in Australia.

I can say when we landed here in Australia, I became very emotional at the moment that we landed and the prime minister was the first person to get on the phone to speak to Julian.

Julian thanked him and the team and told the prime minister that he had saved his life. And I don’t think that that is an exaggeration.

Robinson:

And while the plea deal does not set a decision, the prosecution itself sets a precedent that can be used against the rest of the media.

It’s important that journalists all around the world understand the dangerous precedent that this prosecution has set.

An award-winning Australian journalist who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize prize for the publications has spent more than five years in a high security prison because of this extradition from the United States.

Robinson:

The agreement is that he will spend no more time in prison. The terms of the plea deal are, unfortunately, that he, in order to achieve his freedom and to leave the high-security prison in Belmarsh, he had to choose to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage for publishing evidence of US war crimes, human rights abuse.

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Lawyer Jennifer Robinson is up. She says:

It started two days ago. Julian was released from jail in the UK early on Monday morning UK time. We had to spend 12 hours in Stansted airport before we boarded a flight to Bangkok. Another eight or nine hours to Bangkok before Julian entered his plea.