Imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been awarded the Stuttgart Peace Prize 2020, German civil society organization Die AnStifter, which created the award, said on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2020) Imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been awarded the Stuttgart Peace Prize 2020, German civil society organization Die AnStifter, which created the award, said on Wednesday.
According to Annette Ohme-Reinicke, the organization's chairwoman, awarding the prize to Assange represents "a sign that the right to unconditional freedom of information and the press must not just be protected, but also implemented."
The Stuttgart Peace Prize is awarded annually to people or projects that make a contribution to achieving peace, justice and solidarity. Last year, the prize was awarded to German non-profit organization Sea-Watch, which rescues migrants, while in 2014, US whistleblower Edward Snowden won the award.
Assange is currently in the Belmarsh high-security prison in the United Kingdom pending extradition to the United States on charges of espionage, potentially punishable by a 175-year prison term. Ten years ago, WikiLeaks released the largest leak of classified documents in history, with more than 700,000 files and diplomatic cables exposing atrocities committed by US troops during military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
