Court in US greenlights justice arrangement for Julian Assange
After years of legal standstill, Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, experiences a whirlwind of events: In a US court, he admits guilt over espionage charges. Shortly thereafter, sentencing and release follow.
The US court has sanctioned the agreement between Julian Assange and the American judiciary concerning espionage charges, leading to his release. Reports from the courtroom on the Marianas Island of Saipan, a US territory in the Pacific, confirm this. As a result, the 52-year-old will be released after confessing to his already served sentence in Britain.
Assange is the central figure in a significant espionage scandal. In 2006, he founded WikiLeaks with the goal of assisting whistleblowers and revealing hidden information. From 2010, WikiLeaks started releasing classified data from US military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
The USA accused Assange of stealing, publishing, and potentially endangering the lives of US informants. The American judiciary had been eager to prosecute Assange on espionage charges. He could have faced up to 175 years in prison in the USA. Instead, he struck a deal with the US judiciary, confessing to conspiracy regarding the acquisition and distribution of secret documents. For this, he was sentenced to over five years in prison by the US court on the island of Saipan. This time corresponds to the duration he already spent in a high-security London prison.
Planned Direct Journey to Australia
Through the justice deal, Assange avoids further imprisonment in the USA. Earlier, the USA had demanded his extradition from Britain. Instead, the 52-year-old is scheduled to be released immediately following the court session, according to previously leaked US court documents. From Saipan, he is planned to travel directly to his homeland, Australia. The court hearing, therefore, took place in this remote US territory rather than on the American mainland. The Northern Mariana Islands are located several thousand kilometers north of Australia.
Assange left the London prison unnoticed by the public on Monday and boarded a chartered flight from Britain. He made a stopover in the Thai capital Bangkok before finally flying to Saipan.
This marks the end of a multi-year legal odyssey marked by numerous battles. Assange began his imprisonment in London's high-security Belmarsh Prison around five years ago. Before his arrest in April 2019, he had spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, evading law enforcement. Swedish authorities initially targeted him with rape allegations, which were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. While the USA demanded Assange's extradition for years, human rights organizations, journalists' unions, artists, and politicians called for his immediate release. The Australian government also advocated for the release of its citizen.
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The US court's approval of the agreement with Julian Assange paves the way for his release, allowing him to travel directly to Australia after spending time in a UK prison and later on Saipan. Despite facing espionage charges and potential imprisonment for up to 175 years, Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, reached a deal with the US judiciary, admitting to conspiracy in relation to secret document distribution.
