WikiLeaks gadfly: the Julian Assange saga

Julian Assange had been causing controversy for many years before he made headlines in 2010 by exposing footage of a US helicopter attacking unarmed Iraqis in Baghdad.

The video known as Collateral Murder was one of many secret US military files leaked by the website WikiLeaks years ago. This incident led to a conflict between the website's founder and the US, which was finally resolved just this week after 14 years.

Assange was released from Belmarsh maximum-security prison in London this week after being held there since 2019, resisting being sent to the US to face charges of espionage.

He was transported to the US-governed Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean. In exchange for already serving time, he admitted guilt to one count of conspiring to acquire and share classified information. Charges associated with making the information public have been dismissed.

Assange can now go back to his home country of Australia, thanks to their patience and diplomatic backing, which some supporters think was crucial for him to be released.

Vaughan Smith, the founder of the Frontline Club, a group for journalists in Paddington where Assange stayed during the time he was gaining both supporters and critics worldwide, expressed uncertainty about whether this can be considered a win for freedom.

Back then, his fans viewed him as a brave champion of free speech, uncovering hypocrisy among those in power. Critics, however, saw him as a risky troublemaker, revealing information without considering the potential outcomes.

Smith, who has always been there for Assange, expressed that no matter how you look at it, Assange has gone through a very tough time.

Accused of rape in Sweden, which he said was not true, he stayed hidden in the Ecuadorean embassy in London for seven years. He received backing from a range of famous people like Pamela Anderson, Lady Gaga, and the ex-Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis who showed their support outside the embassy.

After the people of Ecuador grew tired of him, he was taken into custody and transferred to Belmarsh. Smith remarked, "It's quite solemn to see the way he has been forced to endure."

The release of Collateral Murder came in 2010, along with a collection of secret US military papers about the Iraq and Afghan conflicts. Chelsea Manning, a previous US military intelligence analyst, gave them to the public after spending seven years in prison out of a 35-year sentence.

Filmed from an Apache helicopter gunship, the video revealed relaxed rules of engagement by American troops, as well as a lack of honesty from commanders who had falsely depicted the victims of the 2007 incident as being armed.

It was a major part of a large amount of information released that caused a lot of harm to the image of the US military. Among the casualties were two workers from Reuters news agency out of the total of 11 civilians killed.

Initially, the data from WikiLeaks was shared in a thoughtful partnership with The Guardian, New York Times, Der Spiegel, El País, and Le Monde newspapers. It was edited to safeguard the identities of sources and individuals involved.

However, after Assange had disagreements with some newspapers he collaborated with and a German hacker had hacked into the files, WikiLeaks published the unedited documents all at once, as well as over 250,000 US diplomatic cables.

Alan Rusbridger, the ex-leader of The Guardian, stated that when WikiLeaks first emerged in 2006 by uncovering corruption in Kenya, it signaled the start of a "fresh age of openness".

In recent times, reporters have faced criticism from western intelligence agencies for accessing confidential information.

Rusbridger explained that it was necessary to release the information regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. He believed that the diplomatic cables were not as important due to the fact that they were generally easy to understand and did not contain any shocking revelations. This made him question the need for such high levels of secrecy surrounding this type of information.

For some Americans, the not-so-polite words used in the cables harmed relationships with friends.

Even more concerning, they argued that it put sources who were identified in danger.

When Assange was charged in 2019, John Demers, who was the highest-ranking national security official at the Department of Justice, stated that it would be irresponsible for anyone, whether a journalist or not, to intentionally disclose the identities of confidential human sources in war zones, putting their lives at risk.

Assange developed his hacking abilities as a teenager in Australia, where he also encountered legal trouble for the first time. Smith stated that some of Assange's later challenges stemmed from his unique qualities.

Many people have conflicting views on both his personality and his professional projects.

"He doesn't always fit in. Sometimes, individuals who are unique have a message to share, and people tend to reject them," Smith explained. The rape accusations, which are now beyond the statute of limitations under Swedish law, have "tarnished his reputation and tainted his image in the public eye," he continued.

Some people who encountered Assange during his journey had a different opinion. One person characterized him as "unpredictable - at times he would act like a leader, planning and getting things done. Other times he would act out like a misbehaving child."

UK judge Michael Snow, who found Assange guilty in 2019 for breaking bail in 2012, called him "self-centered and unable to see past his own wants".

Even while under house arrest, Assange continued to have a strong impact, causing chaos during the 2016 US elections by exposing a batch of emails from the Democratic party. According to government lawyers, these emails were initially taken by Russian spies.

Donald Trump, who was once a supporter, eventually became a critic as well.

The way Assange has been treated during his extradition process in the UK has caused a lot of disagreement. People who fight for the right to a free press see the UK in a negative way, as they believe the country is favoring the interests of the US.

Expert in the field of extradition law, Nick Vamos, has a differing opinion. He believes that the High Court's decision to allow Assange to appeal earlier this year may have played a crucial role in securing his release.

"Our laws for transferring people to other countries are very lenient when it comes to letting people debate different opinions," he explained. "This is the main reason why everyone has come to the discussion table."