In his first public appearance since his release from prison, whistleblower Julian Assange pleaded before a Council of Europe committee for freedom of information, portraying himself as persecuted by the United States. 'I regret how much ground has been lost during this period. To what extent telling the truth has been stigmatised, attacked, weakened and diminished. I see more impunity, more secrecy, more retaliation for telling the truth and more self-censorship’, he says in a lengthy opening statement. (COMPLETE VID36HR6EC_EN, VID36HP7PY_EN, VID36HQ64_EN, VID36HR2ZP_EN) IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES