Assange served five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets.

The Wikileaks founder said he agreed to a plea deal as he “eventually chose freedom over an unrealizable justice.”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has made his first public remarks since his release after he struck a deal with the United States, saying he is free because he pleaded “guilty to journalism.” The 53-year-old on Tuesday traveled to the French city of Strasbourg to appear before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and provide evidence on his detention and conviction,