Julian Assange says he chose freedom in first public appearance since prison release

• "I eventually chose freedom over unrealizable justice after being detained for years and facing a 175-year sentence, with no effective remedy," he said. "Justice for me is now precluded."

Catch up quick: Assange pleaded guilty in June to violating the Espionage Act in a deal with U.S. authorities. He otherwise faced life in prison.

• The guilty plea contradicted his years-long argument that he was acting as a journalist when he published U.S. government documents on Iraq and Afghanistan.

What they're saying: Assange said on Tuesday that his goal in founding WikiLeaks was to hold power to account so that "through understanding, we might bring about something better."

• In the plea deal, the U.S. insisted that Assange cannot file a case in the European court of Human Rights or make a related request via the Freedom of Information Act, he said.
• "It is hard not to draw a line from the U.S. government's prosecution of me, it's crossing the Rubicon by internationally criminalizing journalism to the chilled climate for freedom of expression that exists now," he said.

Zoom in: Assange said he wasn't yet "fully equipped" to discuss what he endured in his 14 years in detention, which included witnessing fellow prisoners neglected and murdered.

• "The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey," he said. "It strips away one's sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence."

Go deeper:

• "Julian Assange is free": WikiLeaks founder strikes plea deal with U.S.
• Julian Assange arrives in Australia after taking U.S. plea deal