Julian Assange made his first public appearance since his release from prison

Julian Assange has made his first public appearance since his release from prison, telling European lawmakers that the United States forced him to “confess his journalism” to end years of captivity and that his case continues to set a dangerous precedent.

Assange spoke on Tuesday in Strasbourg, France, before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the international rights body.

He said he ultimately chose “freedom over unrealistic justice,” agreeing to a deal that allowed him to be released after 14 years in custody.

“I’m not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years in prison because I confessed to being a journalist,” Assange said during a hearing broadcast live.

After accepting the deal, Assange was released from Britain’s Belmarsh prison in June and flown to a U.S. district court on the Pacific island of Saipan. There he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain and disclose secret US documents, and the judge sentenced him to 62 weeks in prison, equivalent to the time he spent in Belmarsh. The United States sought to indict Assange on 18 counts under the Espionage Act.

The agreement ended more than a decade of U.S. efforts to prosecute Assange for his role in publishing thousands of classified materials, including diplomatic cables and some materials showing possible war crimes committed by U.S. troops.

“I admitted to seeking information from the source. I admitted obtaining information from a source and telling the public what that information was. I didn’t admit to anything else,” Assange said.

Assange was imprisoned in Belmarsh for five years as he fought extradition to the US. He previously spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, facing arrest if he went outside.

“It is difficult to convey the experience of many years of isolation in a small cell,” Assange said on Tuesday. “It takes away your sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence. I’m not yet fully prepared to talk about what I experienced.”

Since his release, Assange has lived with his wife Stella and two young sons in his native Australia.

“I think everyone can tell that he is exhausted and that he is still in a deep recovery phase,” Stella Assange told reporters at the hearing. “At this time, the only concrete plan for the foreseeable future is to continue recovery.”

Assange and his supporters warned that the settlement continues to set a dangerous precedent for media freedom, making him the first journalist convicted under the Espionage Act. During the hearing, Assange said he could not seek justice for his detention, saying the United States required the settlement to include a ban on his bringing cases to the European Court of Human Rights.

He and his team are campaigning for a U.S. presidential pardon.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, who was also present at Tuesday’s hearing, referred to the precedent of Assange’s pardon in an interview with ABC News.

“You must take this dagger. Now there has been bleeding once. And if there is no reaction, pressure and political willingness to take this weapon out of any politician’s hand, it will be used again,” Hrafnsson said.

Asked if Assange had plans to cooperate with WikiLeaks after regaining his freedom, Hrafnsson replied that he had nothing to reveal for now.

“I’m sure there will be a role,” Hrafnsson said. “And of course there is a role for Julian. Of course, it is important to recognize the work, past and legacy of Julian Assange and how he has contributed so massively to the history of journalism in this century.”