Rome intends to bestow honorary citizenship on Assange

(MENAFN) WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, is set to be granted honorary citizenship of Rome, as confirmed by city councilor Antonella Melito. The formalities are expected to be completed once all necessary paperwork has been processed. Assange, currently held at London's high-security Belmarsh Prison, has been fighting extradition to the United States since 2019. He faces the possibility of a life sentence for releasing sensitive United States Army intelligence in 2010 pertaining to conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

According to Melito, Rome's decision to confer citizenship upon Assange is a symbolic gesture of "solidarity and support for all those unjustly detained and convicted, their fundamental rights violated." The motion for this honorary citizenship was put forth by former Rome mayor, Virginia Raggi. Raggi emphasized the significance of this step in safeguarding Assange, both as an individual and as a symbol. She stressed that Assange's case underscores the critical importance of defending freedom of the press.

In June, Stella, Assange's wife, visited the Vatican and had a meeting with Pope Francis. Stella later disclosed in an interview with the Catholic Herald that the Pope had sent a letter to her husband in March 2021, a moment she deemed highly significant during a particularly trying period for him. At the time, a British lower court had determined that Assange's extradition to the United States would not be humane, though bail was not granted.

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