At the United Nations General Assembly, more expressions of support were heard from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, imprisoned in the United Kingdom.
Among the world leaders who spoke in favor of Assange’s release were Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
Gustavo Petro described Julian Assange’s imprisonment as “the greatest mockery of freedom of the press […] and it is being exercised by the country that built the concept…”.
Petro said: “It was in the American Revolution. What they call the Founding Fathers here, they are the ones who said that there must be a press independent of power, of the powers that be. At that time, that was understood as the political power. Today, I would also talk about the economic powers, because the press has succumbed to economic power interests. But if we take this foundational concept of the United States, what they’re doing with Assange is contradicting it, denying their own foundational principle. The very government of the United States is doing this. And so it’s a contradiction in terms. It’s a contradiction, in and of itself, as a society.”
“Assange should be free, and we have called for that. I have called for that. Lula has made it into a banner. Ecuador, when with a progressive president, was safeguarding him. His lawyers visit us sometimes, desperate.”
