Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.
This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible.
After more than five years in a 2x3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars.
WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people's right to know.
As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.
Julian's freedom is our freedom.
[More details to follow]
Julian Assange boards flight at London Stansted Airport at 5PM (BST) Monday June 24th. This is for everyone who worked for his freedom: thank you.
#FreedJulianAssange
"Throughout the years of Julian's imprisonment and persecution, an incredible movement has been formed. People from all walks of life from around the world who support not just Julian... but what Julian stands for: truth and justice." - @Stella_Assange
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Google's deal to buy Israeli cybersecurity heavyweight Wiz for $32 billion won't just be Google's largest ever acquisition. It also imports a major new cohort of Israeli Unit 8200 military intelligence alumni into the tech giant.
Unit 8200 is a specialised Israeli signals intelligence unit – equivalent to the NSA - and the largest single military unit in the Israel Defense Forces. It is behind the development of 'Lavender,' an artificial intelligence system used to automate assassination targets in the Gaza genocide: “...the IDF bombed them in homes without hesitation, as a first option. It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home. The system is built to look for them in these situations.”
Unit 8200 graduates are heavily represented in Israel's tech startup sector, creating a pipeline for military intelligence personnel to be absorbed into the global tech sector via the venture capital ecosystem: “...nearly 50% of founders whose companies were acquired for over $100 million in the last decade served in the unit [8200]”
Who funds the biggest US Think Tanks?
The Department of Defence, foreign governments and military contractors: "If think tanks are reliant on Pentagon contractors and there is no counterbalancing voice, it can lead to an entire sector singing in chorus for things that will benefit Pentagon contractors — most notably, ever-increasing defense budgets and foreign conflicts."
"Since 2019, top Pentagon contractors have contributed more than $34.7 million to the 50 U.S. think tanks included in this study." quincyinst.org/research/big-i…
"The U.S. government contributed at least $1.49 billion to U.S. think tanks from 2019 to 2023. More than half the funding came from the Department of Defence." quincyinst.org/research/big-i…
USAID has pushed nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6m) through a secretive US government financed NGO, "Internews Network" (IN), which has “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing in one year 4,799 hours of broadcasts reaching up to 778 million people and "training” over 9000 journalists (2023 figures). IN has also supported social media censorship initiatives.
The operation claims “offices” in over 30 countries, including main offices in US, London, Paris and regional HQs in Kiev, Bangkok and Nairobi. It is headed up by Jeanne Bourgault, who pays herself $451k a year. Bourgault worked out of the US embassy in Moscow during the early 1990s, where she was in charge of a $250m budget, and in other revolts or conflicts at critical times, before formally rotating out of six years at USAID to IN.
Bourgault’s IN bio and those of its other key people and board members have been recently scrubbed from its website but remain accessible at archive.org. Records show the board being co-chaired by Democrat securocrat Richard J. Kessler and Simone Otus Coxe, wife of NVIDIA billionaire Trench Coxe, both major Democratic donors. In 2023, supported by Hillary Clinton, Bourgault launched a $10m IN fund at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The IN page showing a picture of Bourgault at the CGI has also been deleted.
IN has at least six captive subsidiaries under unrelated names including one based out of the Cayman Islands. Since 2008, when electronic records begin, more than 95% of IN's budget has been supplied by the US government (thread follows)
1. How will you handle the so-called deep state “wolves in MAGA hats” circling your transition team, posing as MAGA to obtain powerful positions in a prospective Trump administration? After all, personnel is policy.
2. In your previous administration, you appointed figures like Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, William Barr (former CIA), Robert O’Brien, Nikki Haley, and Elliott Abrams, who often opposed your “America First” rhetoric, especially on foreign policy and freedom of speech.
If elected again, can you assure that these individuals, or others like Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio—both funded by arms companies—will not hold positions in your administration?
3. Many of these individuals have not only opposed your policies but have actively worked against you, even putting their weight behind your prosecution. For instance, Mike Pompeo accused you of keeping classified documents, suggesting that doing so endangered U.S. soldiers. He also directed the CIA to draw up plans to assassinate Julian Assange, suppressed the release of JFK files at the CIA’s request, and claimed, “There is no deep state at the CIA.” What is your stance toward those who merely feign support for MAGA?
Suggested questions for tonight’s @JoeRogan interview with @realDonaldTrump:
1. How will you handle the so-called deep state “wolves in MAGA hats” circling your transition team, posing as MAGA to obtain powerful positions in a prospective Trump administration? After all, rhetoric is cheap but personnel is policy.
2. In your previous administration, you appointed figures like Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, William Barr (former CIA), Robert O’Brien, Nikki Haley, and Elliott Abrams, who often opposed your “America First” rhetoric, especially on foreign policy and freedom of speech. If elected again, can you assure that these individuals, or others like Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio—both funded by arms companies—will not hold positions in your administration?
3. Many of these individuals have not only opposed your policies but have actively worked against you, even putting their weight behind your prosecution. For instance, Mike Pompeo accused you of keeping classified documents, suggesting that doing so endangered U.S. soldiers. He also directed the CIA to draw up plans to assassinate Julian Assange, suppressed the release of JFK files at the CIA’s request, and claimed, “There is no deep state at the CIA.” What is your stance toward those who merely feign support for MAGA?
The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly – with parliamentarians from 46 Council of Europe member states – will today debate and then vote on a draft resolution entitled "The detention and conviction of Julian Assange and their chilling effects on human rights"
This resolution, drafted by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, is based upon the report of Ms Thorhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir, the Icelandic human rights expert, and MP from the Icelandic Pirate Party 👉pace.coe.int/en/files/33734…
NOW: Watch live
Following Julian Assange's testimony yesterday, the debate and vote on the draft resolution "The detention and conviction of Julian Assange and their chilling effects on human rights" at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly
"This [Assange] case tests our collective commitment to human rights and press freedom. If we tolerate the persecution of those who reveal the truth we undermine the very foundations of pluralistic democratic society.
The core values of our organisation oblige us to stand firmly in defence of justice, transparency, the rule of law and human rights" – Vladimir Vardanyan, National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia