WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free on Wednesday from a court on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that allowed him to head straight home to Australia.
His release ends a 14-year legal saga in which Assange spent more than five years in a British high-security jail and seven years in asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy in London battling extradition to the U.S., where he faced 18 criminal charges. During the three-hour hearing, Assange pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents but said he had believed the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which protects free speech, shielded his activities.
"Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified to publish that information," he told the court. Assange stated that WikiLeaks' work would continue.
His U.K. and Australian lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, expressed relief at Assange's release, saying "It is a huge relief to Julian Assange, to his family, to his friends, to his supporters and to us and to everyone who believes in free speech around the world that he can now return home to Australia and be reunited with his family."
Assange, 52, left the court without answering questions, then waved as he got into a white SUV. He then departed Saipan on a private jet to the Australian capital Canberra, where he is expected to land around 7:30 p.m. (0930 GMT), according to flight logs.
The U.S. territory of Saipan in the western Pacific was chosen as the location for the hearing due to Assange's opposition to traveling to the mainland U.S. and for its proximity to Australia, prosecutors said. Dozens of media from around the world attended the hearing, with more gathered outside the courtroom to cover the proceedings. Media were not allowed inside the courtroom to film the hearing.
"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," Stella Assange, the wife of WikiLeaks founder said on the social media platform X.
LONG SAGA
Assange endured over five years in what Judge Manglona referred to as one of Britain's most severe penitentiaries, and seven years confined within the Ecuadorean embassy in London while he fought against allegations of sexual offenses in Sweden and resisted extradition to the United States. Throughout his time at the embassy, he fathered two sons with his partner, Stella, who had previously served as one of his legal representatives. They tied the knot in 2022 at the Belmarsh prison in London.
Supporters of Assange perceive him as a victim due to his exposure to U.S. misconduct and potential crimes, particularly in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The release of classified documents, according to Washington, endangered lives.
The Australian government has consistently advocated for his release and has raised the matter with the United States on multiple occasions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized during a press conference on Wednesday that this decision was not made hastily, stating, "This is not a recent development. It has been a thoroughly considered, patient process, conducted in a measured manner, which aligns with Australia's approach."
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