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25 Jun, 2024 06:35

Assange freed as part of plea deal: As it happened

The WikiLeaks co-founder is expected to finalize his release at a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific
Assange freed as part of plea deal: As it happened

WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been freed from Belmarsh maximum security prison in the UK as part of a plea deal with the US Justice Department. The activist spent five years behind bars in London while fighting extradition to the US, where he is accused of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security materials which shed light on alleged American war crimes.

According to the US Department of Justice, Assange has agreed to plead guilty at a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific. He is expected to be sentenced to around five years, equating to the time he has already spent in the British prison, while the extradition request is likely to be dropped. After the court proceedings, Assange is expected to travel to Australia, his country of citizenship.

In 2012, the WikiLeaks co-founder hosted ‘The World Tomorrow’ on RT. Over 12 episodes, the program covered a number of hotly debated topics, featuring guests such as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, former Guantanamo Bay inmate Moazzam Begg, and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

  • 26 June 2024

    10:32 GMT

    Assange has arrived at the airport in Canberra after a six-hour journey from Saipan. He was met by his wife Stella, father John Shipton, as well as a crowd of supporters and journalists.

  • 04:55 GMT

    A group of supporters is celebrating Assange’s release outside the US consulate in Sydney.

  • 03:51 GMT

    Assange has boarded a flight from Saipan to Canberra, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has said. The flight will take six hours.

  • 03:38 GMT

    The US Department of Justice has released a lengthy press statement, detailing the charges against Assange and listing numerous classified documents published by WikiLeaks throughout the years.

    According to the plea deal, “Assange is prohibited from returning to the United States without permission,” the DOJ said.

  • 02:02 GMT

    Assange has been sentenced to the time he already served in Belmarsh Prison, with no period of supervised release. Explaining the sentence, Judge Manglona said that she had taken into account Assange’s “14-year ordeal” beginning with his arrest in 2010, and the fact that “no personal victim” was harmed by his publication of classified documents.

    ”I understand your birthday is next week,” Manglona said to Assange after reading out the sentence. “I hope you will start your new life in a positive manner.”

  • 00:23 GMT

    Assange told the judge that he had believed that the First Amendment to the US Constitution protected him during the publication of classified material.

    ”I accept it’s a violation of the espionage statute,” he continued. “I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all the circumstances.”

    Assange described himself as “a journalist” who “encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified.”

  • 00:17 GMT

    As part of his plea agreement, Assange is required to instruct WikiLeaks to destroy classified information stored on its servers or devices, the court has heard. US prosecutors told Judge Manglona that they are satisfied that Assange has done so. It is unclear whether WikiLeaks has complied or will comply with this instruction.

  • 25 June 2024

    23:49 GMT

    Assange has pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information. Asked whether he was ready to enter a plea, Assange replied “yes.” Asked whether he was pleading guilty or not guilty, he responded “guilty.”

  • 23:32 GMT

    According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Judge Romana Manglona has entered the courtroom and Assange’s hearing has begun.

    Sitting beside the WikiLeaks founder are Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, Australian Ambassador to the UK Stephen Smith, and Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

  • 22:19 GMT

    Stella Assange has shared a video of her husband arriving at the courthouse in Saipan. “I watch this and think how overloaded his senses must be, walking through the press scrum after years of sensory deprivation and the four walls of his high security Belmarsh prison cell,” she wrote on X.

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