The Council of Europe has classified Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks whistleblowing publisher, as a political prisoner in a resolution adopted in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The Council’s Parliamentary Assembly referred to the serious accusations made by the United States against Assange, who was facing a possible life sentence, “for what was – in essence – newsgathering and publishing,” the statement said. The assembly called on the US to investigate the alleged war crimes and human rights violations uncovered by Assange and Wikileaks instead. It said the treatment of Assange had had a …