WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free from a court on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that allowed him to head straight home to Australia.

Saipan

Julian Assange freed

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a court in the U.S. territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law. This resolution follows a protracted effort to avoid extradition and subsequent imprisonment in the United States. After the court proceedings, Assange left without addressing the media and was transported to a private jet headed for Australia.

During the three-hour hearing, Assange admitted to conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents. His organization, WikiLeaks, had released tens of thousands of classified military files and diplomatic cables in 2010, marking the largest leak in U.S. military history. Assange acknowledged in court that his actions, done in the belief that the First Amendment protected them, were nonetheless violations of the espionage statute.

Chief U.S. District Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted Assange’s guilty plea and decided on his release based on time already served in a British prison. Barry Pollack, one of Assange's lawyers, expressed relief, stating that Assange should never have been charged under the Espionage Act and that further incarceration was inappropriate.

Assange had spent over five years in a British prison fighting U.S. extradition and seven years prior to that in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden over accusations of sex crimes. While residing in the Ecuadorian embassy, Assange had two sons with his partner Stella, who was also one of his lawyers. The Australian government, including Prime Minister Antony Albanese, has been advocating for Assange's release, citing the prolonged nature of his legal battles.



Julian Assange freed after U.S. guilty plea

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free on Wednesday from a court on the U.S. territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law. It ends a years-long battle to avoid prison in the United States. After his hearing, he left without answering questions to the media. He waved as he got into a white SUV, which took him to a private jet waiting to fly him to Australia. In the three-hour hearing, Assange pleaded guilty to a count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents. His media group released the largest leak in U.S. military history in 2010, tens of thousands of classified military files detailing the U.S. war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and thousands of diplomatic cables. Assange told the court, Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information, and that I believed the First Amendment protected that activity, but I accept that it was a violation of the espionage statute. Washington has said the release of the secret documents put lives in danger. On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted his guilty plea and released him due to time already served in a British jail. One of Assange's lawyers, Barry Pollack, spoke after the hearing. We firmly believe that Mr. Assange never should have been charged under the Espionage Act. It is appropriate for the judge, as she did today, to determine that no additional incarceration of Mr. Assange would be fair, would be appropriate, and it is time for him to be reunited with his family. Assange had spent over five years in one of Britain's toughest prisons, battling extradition to the U.S., and prior to that, seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, as he fought sex crimes accusations in Sweden. While in the Ecuadorian embassy, Assange had two sons with his partner Stella, who had been one of his lawyers. The Australian government has been calling for Julian Assange's release, with Prime Minister Antony Albanese telling the Australian Parliament Wednesday his case had dragged on for too long.

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrived in Canberra on Wednesday (June 26) after a hearing on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan. He pleaded guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that allowed him to head straight home to Australia.

Assange arrives in Australia after guilty plea

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Hundreds gather to show support for Julian Assange's release

Julian Assange is free and back on home soil in Australia after a 14-year battle. It is unknown if he will return to WikiLeaks; his wife Stella Assange says it will take time for him to heal from the ordeal and come to terms with his freedom. The Prime Minister was on the phone with him as soon as he landed.

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