WikiLeaks Founder Assange to Speak at New Era of Journalism Forum in Moscow

Founder and editor-in-chief of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks Julian Assange will speak at the New Era of Journalism: Farewell to Mainstream forum, hosted by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, which is due to take place on June 6-7 in Moscow.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — His speech will be delivered remotely on June 7 via a video conference from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where Assange has been residing since August 2012.

The forum is also due to be attended by senior news agency and television broadcasting figures, including Al Arabiya English Editor-In-Chief Faisal Abbas, Athens News Agency Macedonian Press Agency (ANA-MPA) President Michail Psylos, Xinhua News Agency Asia-Europe Bureau Director Weiguo Fan, Japan Broadcasting Corporation Executive Commentator Ichiyo Ishikawa, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) Director General Ahmed Dawa, Al Mayadeen TV Board of Directors Chairman Ghassan Jeddou, Sputnik news agency International Broadcasting Head Anton Anisimov and Rossiya Segodnya International Media Group Director General Dmitry Kiselev.

Assange launched the WikiLeaks website in 2006. Since then, the site has released millions of classified diplomatic documents from around the world on espionage practices, war crimes, torture and many other human rights violations. The US charges against the whistleblower include espionage, conspiracy, theft of government property and computer fraud — for which Assange could face about 45 years in prison.

Ecuador's decision to grant Assange asylum helped him avoid prosecution by the United States over a range of controversial revelations made by his whistleblower website.