WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spotted in Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral - did the two know each other?

A photo of Assange and his family was shared on X along with a message from his wife Stella. The message said the family had come to Rome to “express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution”.

Legal action against Assange started in 2010 after hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were published.

Assange’s freedom in June last year followed a court appearance before a judge in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific, where he pleaded guilty to a single charge after the US dropped 17 other espionage charges against him.

Around 200,000 people gathered for Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday morning, including world leaders such as Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump and Prince William - who attended on behalf of King Charles. Some 55 heads of state, 14 heads of government and 12 reigning monarchs joined mourners for the open-air service in front of St Peter’s Basilica.

The US and French presidents and their wives were among those who, like William and Sir Keir, paused in front of the Pope’s coffin to pay their respects.

WikiLeaks posted on X, with a statement that said: “Now Julian is free, we have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the Pope’s support during Julian’s persecution. Our children and I had the honor of meeting Pope Francis in June 2023 to discuss how to free Julian from Belmarsh prison.

“Francis wrote to Julian in prison and even proposed to grant him asylum at the Vatican.’ – Stella Assange.”