Swedish human rights activist Anna Ardin is glad Julian Assange is free.
But the claims she has made about him suggest she would have every reason not to wish him well.
Ardin is fiercely proud of Assange’s work for WikiLeaks, and insists that it should never have landed him behind bars.
“We have the right to know about the wars that are fought in our name,” she says.
Speaking to Ardin over Zoom in Stockholm, it quickly becomes clear that she has no problem keeping what she sees as the two Assanges apart in her head - the visionary activist and the man who she says does not treat women well.
She is at pains to describe him neither as a hero nor a monster, but a complicated man.
Well and honestly that’s pretty much how I do look at it. I’m just painfully aware though how easy it is to fall for something you want to be true, or to be coaxed into a false narrative. No differently than how some people are more impressionable and vulnerable at various points in their lives. So I’m trying to balance that versus trying to have an honest take on how it helped me.
Dare I say, this is pretty much the problem with religious faith in my view — coming from a formerly religious family. Many will argue that if it isn’t rooted in truth but still helps you, then is it okay? That’s hard for me.