Stella Assange's Pivotal Roles For Julian

By Neenah Payne

Julian Assange, Australian founder of WikiLeaks, was freed from London’s Belmarsh prison on June 25. He had spent over seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to the United States and over five years in Belmarsh although he had not been charged with any crime.

Julian was able to celebrate his 53^rd birthday on July 3 in Australia with his family, in part, because of the courageous role of his wife Stella. Stella Moris, the South African lawyer and legal researcher, joined WikiLeaks in 2011 after it released documents about Iraq. Because Stella is a Swedish national, fluent in Swedish, she was able to help litigate Assange’s case in Sweden. Stella is also fluent in Spanish and facilitated Assange’s asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012.

Julian Assange’s Wedding Day and Status shows that by 2015, Assange and Stella were in love and by 2017, were engaged. Their plans to get married were derailed when he was arrested. Assange and Stella (42) chose to start a family anyway and have two sons: Gabriel (7) and Max (5).

When Assange landed in Australia on June 26 and received a call from the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Assange said, “You saved my life!”. Assange’s attorney Jennifer Robinson thanked the PM, the Australian ambassador to Washington, DC. Dr Kevin Rudd, and other Australian officials without whose help Assange would not have been freed.

Julian Assange Is Back Home Now! says “Australian authorities had long lobbied the U.S. to drop its extradition efforts or come up with a diplomatic solution that would allow for Assange’s return home. “We wanted him brought home. Tonight that has happened,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters shortly after Assange’s arrival. “This is a culmination of careful, patient, and determined advocacy.”

Stella Addressed Australian National Press Club in May 2023

Julian Assange’s 53rd Birthday Celebration: July 3 shows that Assange’s father John Shipton and brother Gabriel Shipton fought tirelessly for Assange’s freedom. They traveled extensively throughout Europe, the US, Central and South America, and spoke out forcefully in Australia. However, it was primarily after Stella went to Australia in May 2023 to speak to the Australian National Press Club and lead rallies that the Australian government began demanding that President Biden release Assange.

Stella Assange Addresses Australian National Press Club shows that PM Albanese raised the issue in meetings with US officials in November 2022 but did not confirm he would discuss it with President Biden during Biden’s visit to Sydney in 2023. Stella went to Australia in May 2023 when President Biden was expected to visit. However, it was announced on May 21 that Biden had cancelled his plans.

Stella addressed The National Press Club in Australia on May 22. Julian Assange’s life ‘in hands of Australian government’, wife Stella says. ‘Extradition in this case is a matter of life and death,’ campaigner tells National Press Club.

Stella pleaded for Australia to do more to help Julian.

It is important to recognise that Australia plays an important role and can secure Julian’s release. Julian’s life is in the hands of the Australian government. It is not my place to tell the Australian government how to do it, but it must be done. Julian has to be released. I place hope in Anthony Albanese’s will to make it happen. I have to. This is the closest we have ever been to securing Julian’s release and I want to encourage and do everything in my power to help that happen.

‘This the closest we’ve ever been to securing Julian’s release’: Stella Assange 5/23/23

Read Stella Assange’s full speech here.

Stella Leads Freedom Australian Rallies

Stella led numerous rallies for Julian in London and participated in many interviews.

Stella Assange Arrives In Australia To Lead Freedom Rallies 5/24/23.

Stella explained, “For the first time, the US Ambassador to Australia received The Parliamentary Friends of Julian Assange. Julian has received a visit from the High Commissioner of Australia. I read into that that significant change in the Australian government’s view of the importance of this case.”

Who Is Julian Assange’s Wife? Stella & Their Children Explained 6/25/24

Julian Assange’s wife, Stella Moris, is a lawyer and human rights activist. According to The Guardian, Stella Moris was born Sara Gonzalez Devant in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 20, 1983. Her mother is Spanish, and her father is Cuban-Swedish.

Moris holds a Master of Science degree in refugee law from Oxford University, a degree in law and politics from SOAS University of London, and a Master’s in public international law from the Complutense University of Madrid.

In 2011, she met Assange at a property owned by a friend of Assange. Moris, who was known as Sara Gonzalez Devant, was part of the legal team assembled to stop Sweden from extraditing the journalist. By 2012, realizing the threats that came with her job, she decided to change her name to Stella Moris.

Julian and Stella Moris have two sons together: Gabriel and Max. The first was born in 2017 and the second in 2019. According to the BBC, Assange and Moris began their relationship in 2015. According to Daily Mail, they got engaged two years later. During this period, their relationship was kept under wraps. Both children were conceived in secret while Assange was living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In March 2022, the couple exchanged wedding vows in Belmarsh prison, where Assange was incarcerated.

The National Press Club of Australia site says:

Stella Assange grew up in Botswana, Lesotho, Sweden, and Spain. She moved to the UK to study politics and law at SOAS and Oxford University (LMH). Stella worked in East Timor and Botswana before joining Julian Assange's international legal team in London in 2011. Stella formed an integral part of Julian Assange’s legal team since his years of confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy, where her fluency in Spanish and Swedish proved valuable.

Stella has published pieces about Julian Assange’s case in The Guardian, El Pais, The Independent, and the Daily Mail. She has also featured on BBC Hard Talk, BBC Woman’s Hour, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Guardian Saturday paper, and most recently in The Times Weekend Magazine.

Assange's wife and lawyers visit Australia's parliament to thank lawmakers (video)

Julian Assange's wife Stella Assange and members of his legal team visited Australia’s Parliament House on Thursday [June 27] to thank a broad spectrum of lawmakers who campaigned for the WikiLeaks founder's freedom.