*Wife says Assange needs time to ‘let our family be a family’ before speaking publicly
Julian Assange will push ahead with attempts to pardon his conviction for espionage but needs time and space to recover following his 14-year legal saga, his wife has said.
Stella Assange addressed a press conference around an hour after the WikiLeaks founder touched down in Canberra as a free man following a plea agreement.
Mr Assange had been wanted by US authorities following the disclosure of thousands of classified military documents in 2010 and spent more than five years in a British high-security prison after seven years holed up at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
Meanwhile, Stella Assange has said her husband needs time to recuperate after arriving in Australia following plea deal with US.
In a statement, she said: “Watching with relief Julian Assange’s safe return to Australia, sincerely hoping the harshness and the scars of the past 12 years will gradually fade for him, understanding of the whole history of his case should not.
“It has exposed major fault lines – not just within the UK/US extradition process itself, but in respect of human rights protections in both countries previously believed to be absolute.
“The responsibility for addressing their manifestation in one extraordinary experience demands a continued commitment even though the legal case, happily, has now ended.
“Julian wanted me to sincerely thank everyone. He wanted to be here. But you have to understand what he’s been through. He needs time. He needs to recuperate. And this is a process. I ask you – please – to give us space, to give us privacy. To find our place.
“To let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing.”
