Julian Assange is an activist, not a journalist | By FridaGhitis for CNNOpinion
Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent opinion contributor to CNN and The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author; view more opinion articles on CNN.
The images were shocking but not unexpected -- a bedraggled Julian Assange removed from the Ecuadorean embassy in London Thursday by British police after nearly seven years of confinement. The Wikileaks founder had finally reached the end of his long and contentious asylum. And his much-delayed encounter with justice has arrived.
Assange, Wikileaks and their supporters maintain that Britain, by arresting Assange on a US extradition warrant, is an accomplice to an assault against press freedom, arguing that their work, obtaining and releasing massive amounts of secret data, is not a crime. But Assange's claim that he is a journalist is false, as he has proven time and again. That he is not a journalist, however, will not preclude authoritarian governments from using his case to thwart the legitimate media.
Who is Julian Assange? 01:39On Thursday, Moreno announced a deal with the UK. Assange, he said, had"repeatedly violated asylum conventions," breaking into embassy archives and mistreating guards. The British, Moreno said, gave written assurances that they would not extradite him to a country where he could face the death penalty, a point sure to receive scrutiny.Much of what will come next centers on whether Assange is a journalist.
See the times Trump has praised WikiLeaks 01:50Wikileaks figures prominently in the Mueller investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The July 2018 indictment of 12 Russian agents describes how GRU, Russian military intelligence, worked closely with"Organization 1," Wikileaks, in its conspiracy against the United States. Assange worked diligently to advance Putin's goals.
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