WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from prison in the United Kingdom and is expected to return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the United States. Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to one charge of breaching the US espionage law.
According to a filing in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, Assange will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified US national defense documents.
On Monday, Assange was released from the UK’s high-security Belmarsh prison and transported to the airport, where he boarded a flight out of the country. He is scheduled to appear in a court in Saipan, a US Pacific territory, at 9 a.m. on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday), where he will be sentenced to 62 months, equivalent to the time he has already served.
“Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks announced on X (formerly Twitter). “He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of June 24, after spending 1,901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and released at Stansted airport in the afternoon, from where he departed the UK.”
A video posted by WikiLeaks shows Assange, dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, signing a document before boarding a private jet. He will return to Australia after the hearing in Saipan, according to WikiLeaks.
Assange’s plane made a brief stop in Bangkok on Tuesday to refuel before continuing to the US territory. His wife, Stella Assange, expressed her relief and joy over the news. “He will be a free man once it has been signed off by the judge, and that will happen sometime tomorrow,” she said from Australia.
“We will be seeking a pardon, obviously, but the fact that there is a guilty plea under the Espionage Act is a serious concern for journalists,” she told Reuters.
Julian Assange gained international attention in 2006 with the launch of WikiLeaks, an online platform for whistleblowers to anonymously submit classified materials. Notable releases included footage of a US Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad and hundreds of thousands of classified US documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2019, during Donald Trump’s presidency, the US charged Assange with 17 counts of breaching the Espionage Act. US prosecutors argued that Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning, a former army intelligence analyst who was imprisoned for leaking material to WikiLeaks.
Assange’s supporters argued that he was acting as a publisher and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, not as a government employee leaking information. Press freedom advocates claimed that criminally charging Assange threatened free speech.
“WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable,” WikiLeaks said in a statement announcing the plea deal. “Julian paid severely for these principles and for the people’s right to know.”
Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010 when he was arrested in London on a Swedish warrant for sexual assault charges. He took refuge in Ecuador’s embassy in London in 2012, where he stayed for seven years until UK police arrested him for breaching bail conditions. He has been held in the UK while the US extradition case proceeded.
Monday’s plea deal follows mounting pressure on US President Joe Biden to drop the long-running case against Assange. In February, the Australian government officially requested Biden to consider ending the case, citing its prolonged duration.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese voiced his desire for Assange’s swift return to Australia. “Regardless of the views people have about Mr. Assange and his activities, the case has dragged on for too long,” Albanese said in parliament. “There is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration, and we want him brought home to Australia.”
Assange’s mother, Christine, expressed her gratitude that her son’s “ordeal is finally coming to an end,” highlighting the importance of “quiet diplomacy.” Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, praised the news of Assange’s release, emphasizing its significance for press freedom globally.
In Australia, legislators welcomed the news of Assange’s expected return. Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Greens Senator David Shoebridge both expressed their support for Assange and highlighted the importance of the case for Australian sovereignty and press freedom.
Assange’s release marks the end of a long and contentious legal battle, allowing him to return home and reunite with his family.
