Judge declares Julian Assange a ‘free man’ after plea deal

A US judge granted freedom on Wednesday to the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, through a plea agreement which ended years of legal drama over the disclosure of military secrets. Assange’s flight took off an hour later, leaving United States territory.

“With this pronouncement, it appears that you will be able to walk out of this court a free man,” the judge said after Assange pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information.

Assange sued by US authorities for reveal hundreds of thousands of confidential documentspleaded guilty in court to one count of “conspiracy to obtain and disclose information relating to national defense.”

Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide material that was said to be classified,” the 52-year-old WikiLeaks founder, dressed in a black suit and ocher tie, said in court.

JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE pic.twitter.com/z63hI2WnuV

— Free Assange – #FreeAssange (@FreeAssangeNews) June 24, 2024

We recommend: López Obrador and Sheinbaum celebrate Julian Assange’s release from prison.

The judge sentenced him on Wednesday to five years and two months in prison, equivalent to the time he spent detained in United Kingdom while fighting extradition to the United Statesfor which he should not spend any more time in prison.

Looking tired but relaxed, Assanje laughed briefly with Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the United States, during a break in the hearing.

historic day

“Today is a historic day. “Ends 14 years of legal battles”Assange’s lawyer, Jen Robinson, declared on Wednesday.

The courtroom in Saipan was packed with journalists and local residents, many dressed in colorful Hawaiian-style shirts.

After the hearing, Assange left the court without making a statement to the press.

The island territory was chosen for the hearing because of Assange’s refusal to go to the continental United States and because of its proximity to Australia.

WikiLeaks announced on its website that Assange will travel to Canberra on Wednesdaycapital of Australia, after the hearing in Saipan.

Julian Assange walks free.

Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters pic.twitter.com/7S9Vlj9lws

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 26, 2024

Former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, one of Assange’s lawyers, celebrated that “he can finally be a free man after almost 14 years of struggle, deprived of liberty in the most adverse conditions.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also he welcomed his release and “significant progress toward a definitive resolution of this case,” which “raised a number of human rights concerns,” according to spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell.

He should not have been deprived of liberty for even a day for having published information of public interest,” said Rebecca Vincent, campaign director of Reporters Without Borders.

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, celebrated “a democratic victory and the fight for freedom of the press.” “The world is a little better and less unfair today,” she added.

The Nicaraguan government celebrated his release in a statement in which it said that Assange’s publications “allowed the world to learn more about the lies that (…) exposed, in all its unfortunate and brutal intensity, the imperialist barbarity in so many parts of the world.” “.

Stella Assange, wife of the Australian, launched a call to raise financing and pay for the 520 thousand dollars that her husband has to return to the Australian government after chartering the flight between London and Australia.

A 14 year saga

This agreement ends a legal saga of almost 14 years, which includes seven years of confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy From london.

Since 2019, when he was detained in a high-security prison in London, Assange has been fighting to avoid being handed over to American justice, which is persecuting him for publishing more than 700,000 confidential documents on military and diplomatic activities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Australian, charged with 18 charges, faced a sentence of up to 175 years in prison under the Espionage Act.

The British government approved his extradition in June 2022. However, in May two judges granted him the right to appeal.

Seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy

The founder of WikiLeaks was arrested by British police in April 2019 after spending seven years locked up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, from where he sought to avoid extradition to Sweden in a rape investigation, which was dismissed that same year.

In recent years, calls had increased for the US president, Joe Biden, to drop the charges against him. Australia submitted a formal request in February, which the Democratic president said he was considering.

We recommend: Julian Assange will plead guilty on the US island before going to Australia.

That the prime minister (Australia, Anthony Albanese) sometimes publicly said ‘enough is enough’, and that Parliament backed him up, was significant and absolutely contemplated by the United States,” said Emma Shortis, a researcher in international and security affairs at the group of experts The Australia Institute.

With information from AFP and Reuters.

ORP