Julian Assange is expected to plead guilty to one charge of conspiring to obtain and distribute classified information in a U.S. courtroom in the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday. Assange's release from the U.K. ends Washington's long-running efforts to prosecute the Wikileaks founder for revealing government secrets.

Saipan

Julian Assange has been released from prison in the United Kingdom and has traveled to the U.S. Mariana Islands, where he is expected to plead guilty to conspiring to steal and distribute classified information. Assange's case has been closely watched globally for over 13 years. His charges are linked with the leaking of over 700,000 classified documents on U.S. military activities and foreign policy, in collaboration with Chelsea Manning.

Assange has maintained that his actions were those of a journalist. After the hearing in Saipan, he is expected to return to Australia. Both the U.S. and Australian governments have shown a rare display of bipartisanship in supporting his return. Assange's focus will be on maintaining his health and reconnecting with his family, particularly his children who have never known him outside prison confines.

Assange became a globally recognized figure after publishing a U.S. military video and extensive classified documents. He sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid arrest and was later charged by the U.S. under the Espionage Act. Although his immediate future involves no further incarceration, his journey and the challenges he faces remain significant as he prepares to embark on the next chapter of his life.



Julian Assange lands in U.S. Mariana Islands to formalize plea deal

This is the moment WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange left London, finally released from prison and ending a standoff that divided the world for more than 13 years. I just came out of Belmar's prison in what I hope is my last visit to see Julian here in this prison where he spent five years, two months and two weeks. That optimism tempered by his pending appearance before a U.S. court in the Mariana Islands. He is expected to plead guilty to conspiring to steal and distribute classified documents on U.S. wars and foreign policy, a charge his wife once scrapped. I think that the correct course of action from the U.S. government should have been to drop the case entirely. We will be seeking a pardon, obviously. It was this U.S. military video that made headlines around the world and turned Julian Assange into a globally recognized figure. The U.S. Justice Department says Assange plotted with military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal and publish more than 700,000 pages of classified documents about the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and containing the names of confidential military and diplomatic sources. Assange says he was a journalist doing his job. He then took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid arrest. The U.S. charged him in 2019 with violating the Espionage Act. Assange won't spend any more time behind bars. After the hearing in Saipan, he is expected to travel to Australia. Support in the Australian parliament to bring Assange home crossed party lines in a rare display of bipartisanship. There's nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia. Assange is expected to arrive in the capital Canberra before spending time with his family. His wife Stella says she will only believe he is truly free when she can hold him in her arms. His priority when he lands in his homeland will be his physical and mental health and to spend time with his children who have only ever known him behind bars. With more challenges still ahead of him, Assange's journey back to Australia and his next steps are far from simple as he begins the next chapter in this extraordinary saga. Danielle Robertson, Al Jazeera.

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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.

Julian Assange lands in Australia, speaks to PM

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.