President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated Julian Assange’s release, who agreed to plead guilty to a single felony under the U.S. Espionage Act in exchange for freedom in Australia. Lula hailed the event as a victory for democracy and press freedom.
Assange, after over 5 years in Belmarsh Prison, departed for Australia via Thailand, where he is expected to be sentenced in a U.S. court. The U.S. accused him of breaching the Espionage Act in 2010.
Lula and his Workers’ Party have been vocal supporters of Assange, seeing him as a hero for exposing U.S. state secrets. The party’s stance of non-alignment with the U.S. aligns with their support for Assange.
In 2020, Lula praised Assange, stating he should be treated as a hero. In 2022, Julian’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, thanked Lula for his support against extradition. Julian’s father also visited the presidential palace to promote a documentary about his son’s incarceration.
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