M10news -WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to violating US espionage laws in a groundbreaking agreement.
This agreement will terminate his imprisonment in Britain and facilitate his return to Australia, concluding a 14-year legal saga.
Assange will be sentenced to 62 months, equivalent to time already served, in a hearing scheduled for 9 am local time in Saipan (11 pm Irish time tonight).
Assange fled to Ecuador’s embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden
The Pacific island was chosen due to Assange’s reluctance to travel to the US mainland and its relative proximity to Australia, according to prosecutors.
Assange left Belmarsh Prison in the UK yesterday after being granted bail by the UK High Court. He subsequently boarded a flight that afternoon, according to a statement from WikiLeaks on social media platform X.
The organisation highlighted the broad support for Assange’s release, crediting a global campaign encompassing grassroots organisers, press freedom advocates, and political leaders worldwide, including the United Nations.
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
A video posted by WikiLeaks on X depicted Assange in a blue shirt and jeans, signing a document before boarding a private jet from charter firm VistaJet. His wife, Stella Assange, celebrated the news with a post on X stating, “Julian is free!!!!”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been a vocal advocate for Assange’s release.
Assange married his partner Stella Moris while imprisoned in Belmarsh
In a statement to Parliament, he emphasised the prolonged nature of the case and reiterated his call for Assange’s immediate return to Australia. “Regardless of people’s views about Mr Assange and his activities, the case has dragged on for too long,” Albanese stated.
“There is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.”
The charges against Assange stem from WikiLeaks’ 2010 release of hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with numerous diplomatic cables. This was one of the most significant security breaches in US military history.
Assange was indicted under the Trump administration for these disclosures, which former US military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked.
The released documents included a 2007 video showing a US Apache helicopter attacking suspected insurgents in Iraq, resulting in the deaths of twelve individuals, including two Reuters journalists.
Assange’s indictment has sparked significant controversy among his supporters and press freedom advocates, who argue that charging Assange as a publisher poses a severe threat to free speech.
Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, commented on the plea deal, saying, “A plea deal would avert the worst-case scenario for press freedom, but this deal contemplates that Assange will have served five years in prison for activities that journalists engage in every day.
It will cast a long shadow over the most important kinds of journalism, not just in this country but worldwide.”
After the Saipan hearing, Assange will return to Australia, marking the end of his lengthy legal ordeal.
As the world watches, the outcome of Assange’s case will undoubtedly have lasting implications for press freedom and the treatment of whistleblowers globally.
While the plea deal marks a significant development, questions remain about the broader implications for journalism and the legal precedents set by Assange’s prosecution. Legal experts and press freedom advocates will continue scrutinising the case, assessing its impact on future whistleblowers and the media’s role in holding power to account.
For more updates, stay tuned to our ongoing coverage of this pivotal moment in the history of press freedom and international law.
