Journalist Julian Assange is released and traveling to Australia.
After a prolonged stint in detention, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is now a free individual. A US judge has approved his plea and let him go. He's currently en route to Canberra, and his lawyer has confirmed that the operations of WikiLeaks will continue.
Assange, a 52-year-old Australian, is making his way back to his homeland following years of legal confrontations. A Bombardier-type charter aircraft took off from Saipan Island and is estimated to touch down in Canberra's capital city during local evening hours.
Previously, Assange was discharged by a US court stationed in Saipan, with Judge Ramona V. Manglona granting him freedom because he had already served a potential sentence of 62 months in a British maximum-security prison. "You are now a free man," the judge announced.
Assange confessed to conspiring to obtain and reveal secret documents belonging to the US government during the three-hour hearing and accepted responsibility for his actions. In court, he expressed, "As a journalist, I motivated my sources to provide me with classified information, to publish it." He further stated, "I thought that the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which safeguards freedom of speech, also protected my actions. However, I acknowledge that it was a breach of the Espionage Act."
Assange had agreed earlier to plead guilty for this single charge, as per records of the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The US territory in the western Pacific was chosen for the hearing because Assange did not wish to travel to the US mainland and since it's close to Australia, according to the prosecution.
End of a Saga
Born in Australia, Assange spent more than five years in a British maximum-security prison and spent seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He disputed allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden and resisted his extradition to the US, with his lawyers claiming he faced 18 indictments and potentially 175 years in prison.
The risk of Assange committing suicide during extradition proceedings was a significant factor in the ongoing legal dispute. His supporters view him as a victim for revealing the potential misdeeds and potential crimes of the US, including in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US contended that the publication of classified documents posed a threat to lives.
The Australian government has repeatedly advocated for Assange's release and brought up the matter with the US on numerous occasions. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated at a press conference that they had meticulously and patiently worked towards this outcome. "This is not something that has happened in the last 24 hours," Albanese said. Earlier, Deputy Australian Prime Minister Richard Marles told the ABC that the government had advocated for Assange's release.
Assange's lawyer described it as a "historic day." "I hope that the fact that we have been able to secure Julian Assange's release today despite all the obstacles and against one of the most powerful governments in the world gives hope to all imprisoned journalists and publishers worldwide," said the Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson before the court. "We are confident that Mr. Assange could not have been charged under the Espionage Act and was merely doing something that journalists do every day," said his US lawyer Barry Pollack. The work of WikiLeaks will continue.
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Upon his arrival in Australia, Julian Assange, the celebrated Whistleblower and founder of Wikileaks, plans to resume the organization's operations. The USA, where Assange faced numerous indictments and the possibility of up to 175 years in prison, has now approved his plea and facilitated his release.
