WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from custody after reaching an agreement with the United States. He has left England, where he had been detained for the past five years, and is en route to the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, before making his way to his home country of Australia.
As part of the agreement, Assange will appear in the District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands to admit to violating US espionage laws. This appearance is set for tomorrow, and it is expected that Assange will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, taking into account the time he has already spent in detention in the UK.
The agreement also allows for Assange’s transfer to Australia post-sentencing. He departed from Belmarsh Prison in London today and boarded a private jet bound for Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Assange’s departure from the UK, noting that Australia’s Ambassador to the UK, Stephen Smith, will accompany him during the court proceedings in Saipan.
Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, celebrated the news on her X account, stating simply, “Julian is free.” She also shared images of Assange boarding the plane, marking a significant moment in his long legal battle.
The Legal Journey
WikiLeaks gained international attention on 28 October 2010, when it released 251,000 classified documents exposing US military misconduct in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in June 2012 but was forcibly removed and arrested on 11 April 2019. He was subsequently jailed in Belmarsh Prison for breaching bail conditions.
Initially sentenced to 50 weeks in prison, Assange remained in custody as the US pursued his extradition. On 10 December 2021, the High Court ruled that Assange could be extradited to the US. The decision was upheld by Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 20 April 2022 and confirmed by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel on 17 June 2022.
Assange’s legal team appealed to the High Court on 1 July 2022, leading to hearings on 20-21 February 2023. The court’s decision, delivered on 26 March, stipulated that Assange would not be extradited unless the US provided assurances regarding his treatment.
Assurances from the US
The US was required to guarantee that Assange would not face the death penalty and would receive a fair trial. These assurances were provided in April, although Stella Assange highlighted that her husband, not being a US citizen, would lack certain legal protections.
Assange’s lawyers and supporters warned that he could face up to 175 years in prison if extradited to the US. However, US authorities suggested that his sentence might range from four to six years.
Who is Julian Assange and What is WikiLeaks?
Julian Assange gained notoriety as a computer programmer in his youth. In 1995, he was convicted of hacking in Australia but avoided prison by promising not to reoffend. In 2006, he founded WikiLeaks, which has since published over ten million confidential documents, including reports on war, espionage, and corruption.
In 2010, WikiLeaks released a video showing a US military helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed 18 civilians. This and thousands of other documents, leaked by former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, revealed numerous unreported civilian casualties during the Afghan war. The US Department of Justice described the leaks as one of the largest in American history.
US officials claimed the leaks endangered individuals named in the documents, exposing them to severe harm, torture, or death. Assange, however, argued that the documents unveiled serious misconduct by US armed forces and that the case against him was politically motivated.
Accused of conspiring to hack military databases to obtain classified information, Assange faces 18 charges in the US.
