Wikileaks founder Assange on the red carpet in Cannes-DiePresse.com
At the 78th Film Festival in Cannes, Julian Assange is expected on the red carpet on Wednesday.
Usually filmmaker Eugene Jarecki presents the documentary « The Six Billion Dollar Man » about Assange, which wants to correct the public image of the Australian whistleblower. Ecuador’s former President Rafael Correa, who had granted Assange embassy asylum, also announced for the premiere.
Assange « recovered physically and mentally, » said his wife Stella Assange with a view to the past twelve years in embassy asylum and prison. Her husband stays a lot in nature in Australia. He currently does not give any interviews. « He will speak when he is ready, » said his wife of the AFP.
Assange already caused a stir in Cannes
Assange already caused a sensation in Cannes the day before when he showed himself in a T-shirt with a political message. According to Wikileaks, almost 5,000 names of Palestinian children, who were killed in Israeli attacks, were printed on the T-shirt.
Filmmaker Jarecki certified Assange « hero qualities ». Assange had put himself in danger « because he was pursuing the principle of informing the public about what governments and corporations do secretly, » said Jarecki. The filmmaker also used private recordings for the film that Assanges wife had made available to him.
Return to Australia in the previous year
Stella Assange belonged to the lawyer’s team in Assange and married him in prison in 2022. At that time the couple already had two children. The Australian returned to his home country last year. He had agreed on a deal with the US judiciary: he was guilty of the transfer of military secrets and was sentenced to a prison sentence that he had already served.
The US justice accuses Assange of publishing around 700,000 confidential documents on military and diplomatic US activities from 2010. The papers contained explosive information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the killing of civilians and the abuse of prisoners by US soldiers.
His followers see Assange as heroes who argue for free expression. His critics see him a traitor who has endangered the security of the United States and secret service sources. (APA)
