Julian Assange Freed from Prison Following Plea Deal with U.S Authorities
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been released from the high-security Belmarsh prison in the United Kingdom and is en route to his homeland, Australia.
His release follows a plea agreement with U.S. authorities, in which he has agreed to plead guilty to a single charge under the U.S. espionage law.
Assange, aged 52, will formally plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents.
This development was revealed in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. Reuters reports that Assange was freed from Belmarsh prison on Monday, June 24. After his release, he was transported to the airport and departed the UK.
He is scheduled to appear in court in Saipan, a U.S. Pacific territory, at 9 a.m. on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).
During this hearing, Assange will be sentenced to 62 months, which will be credited as time already served. This means he will not be returning to prison, effectively allowing him to travel freely back to Australia.
The plea deal marks a significant turn in Assange’s legal battle, which has spanned over a decade and included a lengthy asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, multiple legal proceedings, and international controversy over press freedom and national security.
Julian Assange Freed from Prison Following Plea Deal with U.S Authorities
