WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from UK custody after reaching a plea agreement with US authorities, concluding a lengthy legal battle. Court documents disclosed Assange will plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defence information in exchange for his freedom.
Assange, who had been held in Britain’s Belmarsh prison since April 2019, agreed to the plea deal in a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific. He is expected to appear in court there on Wednesday.
According to the terms of the deal, Assange will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, but with credit for the five years already served in the UK, he will be free to return to his native Australia. “Julian Assange is free” announced WikiLeaks early morning on Tuesday. It confirmed his departure from the UK.
Assange, now 52, became a polarising figure after WikiLeaks published hundreds of thousands of secret US documents in 2010, revealing classified information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His actions were hailed by free speech advocates but condemned by others who believed he compromised US national security and intelligence sources.
The US had indicted Assange on 18 counts in 2019, aiming to prosecute him under the 1917 Espionage Act. This plea bargain ends nearly 14 years of legal proceedings, including Assange’s prolonged stay in Ecuador’s London embassy to evade extradition and his subsequent detention in the UK.
The plea deal comes shortly before Assange was set to appeal a ruling approving his extradition to the US. His legal saga had seen various twists, including the British Government’s approval of his extradition in June 2022 and a subsequent ruling allowing him to appeal on the grounds of free speech protections under the US Constitution’s First Amendment.
Assange’s release follows growing international pressure, including an official request from the Australian Government in February for the US to drop the case. President Joe Biden indicated he would consider the request, ultimately leading to the resolution of the high-profile case.
