Wikileaks founder Julian Assange released from prison after US plea deal

YEREVAN, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to one felony charge under the Espionage Act in a plea deal that will allow him to go free from prison and bring to an end a years-long legal saga stemming from his role in one of the largest publications of classified information in U.S. history, according to court documents filed Monday, The Hill reports.

Julian Assange boards flight at London Stansted Airport at 5PM (BST) Monday June 24th. This is for everyone who worked for his freedom: thank you.#FreedJulianAssange pic.twitter.com/Pqp5pBAhSQ

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 25, 2024

Assange will plead guilty to conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate national defense information, under the plea deal, which still must be approved by a judge.

Assange has been released from prison in Britain and departed the UK.

“Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK,” a statement by WikiLeaks on X social network says.

“As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.”

Assange is slated to appear in federal court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific. His plea and sentencing are scheduled for Wednesday morning, after which time he is expected to return to Australia, The Hill continues. 

Assange has spent the last five years in a British prison, fighting to avoid extradition to the U.S. to face charges. Part of the plea deal includes a sentence of the five years that Assange has already spent behind bars there. The deal ensures Assange admits guilt without serving more time in prison.

Assange was indicted on 18 charges — 17 espionage charges and one for computer misuse — after his website published hundreds of thousands of classified military and intelligence documents in 2010. He was accused of helping U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files for WikiLeaks to publish, the report adds.

The massive leak of classified information sparked a national debate over whether Assange’s actions were heroic or harmful to the U.S. The documents shed light on what many saw as military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, but prosecutors alleged Assange damaged the country’s national security and helped U.S. adversaries.