© GettyJulian Assange speaks to the media from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in May 2017.
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange should never have been jailed in the first place, former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has told RT in an exclusive interview.
Correa, who granted Assange asylum in his country's embassy in London in 2012, spoke to RT shortly after the news broke that the Australian had been released from prison in the UK as part of a plea deal with the US Justice Department.
"Julian Assange is persecuted for telling the truth, not for lying. And he is the truth teller, the persecuted, the punished, the one buried alive in a prison, when the ones in prison should have been the war criminals," Correa said.
© RT/ScreencapFormer President of Ecuador Raphael Correa
From 2011 to 2019, Assange took sanctuary inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London due to fear of extradition to the US. When Ecuador's next president, Lenin Moreno, revoked his asylum status, Assange was ejected from the embassy and arrested by British police. He then spent five years at the Belmarsh maximum-security prison in London.
Correa said he is "happy" that Assange has been released, but insisted he should have never been targeted in the first place.
"The real war criminals went unpunished," Correa said. "He [Assange] should never have lost his freedom. On the contrary, he should have been recognized for his courage."
Watch the full interview below:
Cause after you been in prison - give a man a new perspective on freedom.
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So let the man and his family have some peace - and let this sad chapter of jurisprudence gone so wrong be studied in the future after the man and his family choose where to reside and where to live their lives in freedom. Best to lie low after you get out of prison - cause nobody wants to lie on cold concrete after being falsely accused and nobody wants to be in prison again.
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Big changes are on the way - but the man and his family - they ought be let free to reside in peace. Anybody want to argue on this - cause if you think it is a crime to speak truth to power - that is most telling and you will reap what you sow if you choose to be with the proven liars.