WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was freed from a British prison on Tuesday and is expected to admit guilt to violating US espionage law. This plea agreement could pave the way for his return to his home country of Australia.
Court documents filed in the US district court for the Northern Mariana Islands indicate that Assange has agreed to plead guilty to one charge. The Guardian reported that a plane believed to be carrying Assange landed in Bangkok shortly after 1 p.m. local time, ahead of a plea deal hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Julian is free!!!!
Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU- yes YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true. THANK YOU. tHANK YOU. THANK YOU.
Follow @WikiLeaks for more info soon…pic.twitter.com/gW4UWCKP44
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) June 25, 2024
WikiLeaks shared footage on social media showing Assange boarding a flight at London's Stansted airport on Monday evening. The organization stated that Assange departed Belmarsh prison earlier that day, with Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands as his likely destination.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Assange's departure from the UK, stating, "The case had dragged on for too long." Albanese added that Australia's high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, is accompanying Assange.
Assange's wife, Stella, announced on X that he was free and expressed gratitude to his supporters, saying, "Words cannot express our immense gratitude." His mother, Christine, welcomed the news, stating, "I am grateful my son's ordeal is finally coming to an end."
The plea agreement, which requires judicial approval, may credit Assange for the five years he has already served, potentially resulting in no additional jail time. The Guardian reported that a senior justice department official explained in a letter to a federal judge that Assange was being sent to Saipan due to its "proximity to the defendant's country of citizenship."
Some experts have voiced concerns about the implications of Assange's conviction, even on a single count. Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, cautioned that the outcome could "cast a long shadow over the most important kinds of journalism, not just in this country but around the world."
Former US Vice President Mike Pence criticized the plea deal on Twitter, describing it as a "miscarriage of justice" that "dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces."
