An early, grey October morning, in a soulless, grey meeting room at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, is the setting Julian Assange chose to make his return to public life, raising questions about what he plans to do next.
Speaking softly but confidently for the one-and-a-half-hour hearing, the 53-year-old Australian, dressed in a plain blue suit and tie with his signature striking white hair combed neatly to the side, addressed parliamentarians from the 46 member states of Europe's Human Rights organization.
"The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey. It strips away one's sense of self," said the founder of whistleblower group WikiLeaks.
He spent 14 years either holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London or the UK's Belmarsh prison, facing extradition to Sweden and the US, until his release in June this year.
Assange's wife Stella sat next to him at the hearing, fussing over the button to switch his microphone on and off, indicating he required support from those around him.
The hearing was called to an end 10 minutes before the allotted time after Assange expressed he was growing tired of answering questions.
The speech was billed as an exception to his recovery from his ordeal,........