WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be freed after plea deal with US
1. Plea deal with US will set him free after 14-year British legal odyssey and allow his return home to Australia
Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has agreed to plead guilty on Wednesday to violating US espionage law, marking the end of his 14-year legal battle in Britain. According to Reuters, the charge stems from his acquisition and disclosure of classified US national defense documents, filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
The plea deal potentially allows Assange to return home to Australia after enduring years of legal turmoil, including a lengthy stint in a high-security British jail and seeking asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. Previously facing allegations of sexual offenses in Sweden and battling US extradition with 18 criminal charges, the 52-year-old editor is scheduled for sentencing in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, at 9am local time, where he will serve 62 months, including time already served.
Saipan was chosen due to Assange's aversion to mainland US travel and its proximity to Australia, prosecutors explained. Stella, Assange's wife, expressed mixed emotions to Reuters, feeling elated yet worried until everything is finalized. A video by WikiLeaks shows Assange in a blue shirt and jeans signing documents before boarding a private jet.
Recently granted permission to appeal his US extradition approval, with a hearing set at London's High Court next month, this development influenced discussions towards a settlement, according to his wife.
