According to several reports, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has reached an agreement with the Biden administration. He has pleaded guilty to a felony charge related to his alleged involvement in the release of classified U.S. material. Court documents from the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands reveal that the 52-year-old has accepted responsibility for violating the U.S. espionage law by conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents. Following this development, Assange was observed leaving the Belmarsh maximum security prison in the United Kingdom, where he had been held for nearly 5 years while awaiting extradition to the U.S.
“Julian Assange is free,” Wikileaks posted to Twitter. “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.”
“This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations,” the post continues. “This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible.”
JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE
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…
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 24, 2024
Video footage shared on the internet showed the Wikileaks founder getting on a plane in England as he prepares to travel back to his home country of Australia.
JUST IN: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange boards a jet at London’s Stansted Airport after being freed from prison.
Assange spent 1901 days at the Belmarsh maximum security prison.
Immediately after being released from prison, Assange departed the UK.
"He was granted… pic.twitter.com/MNw0809dbg
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 25, 2024
Assange was being sought by the U.S. government for allegedly acquiring and releasing thousands of confidential military documents provided by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, which the U.S. claimed could have put confidential sources in the Middle East at risk, as per CNN. Despite the FBI and Justice Department’s opposition to any agreement with the Wikileaks founder that did not involve a felony charge, Biden hinted at a potential deal supported by the Australian government, as reported by the outlet. In the previous month, while Assange remained in Belmarsh prison, a UK court decided that he had the right to challenge his extradition to the U.S.
