As a Christian journalist, I do not worship at the altar of Julian Assange

Simply publishing information that others would prefer to remain hidden is not journalism, says Tim Wyatt. Here’s why he is struggling with those who wish to laud the WikiLeaks founder as some kind of hero of free speech

Julian Assange is now a free man, safely back on his home soil of Australia. The hacker, whistleblower and activist came to a surprise deal with the American authorities, pleading guilty to one charge of violating the Espionage Act. In return, his time served in a British jail since 2019 was taken as sufficient punishment, and he was set free.

On a human level, it’s hard not to be pleased that this saga has finally come to an end. Assange has unquestionably suffered a lot since he first published classified US military files from the Iraq and Afghan wars and, later, a huge trove of diplomatic messages.

He spent seven years inside the Ecuadorian embassy and a further five in prison fighting efforts to extradite him to the US. But as a journalist and a Christian, I struggle to get on board with those who lionise him as a hero and have castigated the US and UK authorities for pursuing him.