The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) voted on Wednesday to formally recognize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a political prisoner based on his time spent in UK custody while fighting extradition to the US on espionage charges.

Assange has been free since June, when he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for releasing troves of US classified documents via his website WikiLeaks. He was released with time served, having spent the previous five years in a UK prison. For seven years prior, he had been confined to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had sought refuge from legal battles in the US, on national security grounds, and in Sweden, where he was accused of sexual misconduct. Assange first gained international prominence with the 2010 release of a video depicting the killing of civilians, including two employees of Reuters, by US military forces in Iraq. The subsequent leak of thousands of documents by WikiLeaks purported to reveal evidence of war crimes and official misconduct, raising significant ethical questions about transparency and accountability.

PACE this week approved the resolution to designate him as a political prisoner based on a committee report highlighting the gravity of the charges Assange faced in the US. The report stated that Assange’s conviction stemmed from actions that amounted to “newsgathering and publishing,” vital components of journalism. This designation aligns with the definition of a political prisoner that PACE adopted in 2012, indicating that Assange’s case is not merely a legal issue but a matter of press freedom and human rights.

Furthermore, the Assembly engaged in discussions regarding Assange’s case following his testimony to the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, marking his first public comments since his release from Belmarsh Prison four months ago. During the session, he stated:

I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today because after years of incarceration I pleaded guilty to journalism. I pleaded guilty to seeking information from a source, and I pleaded guilty to informing the public what that information was.

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights expressed deep concern regarding the chilling effect of Assange’s treatment on journalists worldwide, indicating that such actions foster a climate of self-censorship among those reporting on critical issues. The Assembly called on the U.S. to investigate alleged war crimes and human rights violations disclosed by WikiLeaks and urged a reform of the Espionage Act to ensure protections for journalists and whistleblowers who disclose classified information in the public interest.

Moreover, PACE criticized the UK for what it described as the country’s failure to adequately protect Assange’s rights, noting that his lengthy detention exceeded what would typically be deemed reasonable under extradition laws.