In a dramatic turn of events, the US Justice Department has struck an extraordinary plea bargain with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, allowing him to return to his native Australia.
The 52-year-old entered a guilty plea to one charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, as per court documents from the US district court in the Northern Mariana Island.
Assange was spotted getting on a plane at London's Stansted Airport on Monday night. The specially arranged flight touched down in Bangkok for refuelling while Australian PM Anthony Albanese confirmed Assange had left British soil.
READ MORE: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be released after reaching plea deal with US government
Julian Assange speaks to the media inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London (PA)
A supporter of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange holds a placard calling for his freedom outside Woolwich Crown Court (AFP via Getty Images)Heading for a sentencing hearing on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, Assange is set to face his fate at 9am local time this Wednesday.
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"Regardless of the views that people have about Julian Assange and his activities, the case has dragged on for too long, there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia," declared Mr Albanese.
Who is Julian Assange?
He's an Australian editor and publisher, infamous for founding WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website that shook the world in 2010 with the release of nearly half a million documents concerning the American military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His activism earned him the status of a cause celebre among press freedom advocates, who argued that his work in revealing U. S. military misconduct abroad was no different to what is normally expected from traditional journalists.
However, these actions put him under the radar of American prosecutors. In 2019, they issued an indictment accusing Assange - who at that time was taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London - of colluding with an Army private to unlawfully gain and publish sensitive government records.
A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest called by Catalan National Assembly (ANC) under the motto Journalism is not a crime (AFP via Getty Images)"Julian Assange is no journalist," stated John Demers, the then-lead Justice Department national security official, adding, "No responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposely publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential human sources in war zones, exposing them to the gravest of dangers."
What's Assange accused of?
The Trump era's Justice Department accused Assange of directing former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning into orchestrating one of the biggest leaks of classified information in US history.
The charges relate to WikiLeaks' publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic files. Prosecutors have accused Assange of aiding Manning in stealing classified diplomatic cables that allegedly threatened national security and of conspiring together to hack a Defense Department password.
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as reported by Assange, included the names of Afghans and Iraqis who provided information to American and coalition forces, according to prosecutors. The diplomatic cables he released exposed journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and dissidents in oppressive countries.
WikiLeaks shares a statement on X thanking Assange's supporters along with a video of him boarding a plane (WikiLeaks/X)Manning was handed a 35-year prison sentence after being found guilty of violating the Espionage Act and other offences for leaking classified government and military documents to WikiLeaks. However, her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017, leading to her release after roughly seven years behind bars.
Why has Assange been in a British prison?
Assange has spent the past five years in a high-security British prison, battling to avoid extradition to the US and securing favourable court rulings that have postponed any transfer across the Atlantic.
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In April 2019, he was ejected from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had sought sanctuary seven years prior amid an investigation by Swedish authorities into allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has consistently denied and which were later dismissed. The South American country withdrew the political asylum following charges by the US government.
He is best known for having founded the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks (AFP via Getty Images)Despite his arrest and incarceration by British authorities, efforts by the U. S. to extradite him had hit a roadblock before the plea deal.
In 2021, a UK judge denied the US's request to extradite Assange, citing fears that he would take his own life if subjected to harsh conditions in a US prison. However, this decision was overturned by higher courts after they received assurances from the US regarding his treatment. The British government then signed an extradition order in June 2022.
Fast forward to last month, when two High Court judges ruled that Assange could launch a new appeal. This would be based on arguments about whether he would receive protections for free speech or face disadvantages due to his non-US citizenship.
The date for this hearing is yet to be set.
What's next following his plea deal?
Assange will have to plead guilty to a felony charge under the Espionage Act. This relates to conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information concerning the US's national defence, as per a Justice Department letter filed in federal court.
Instead of facing potential jail time in the US, it's anticipated that he'll return to Australia post-plea and sentencing. These proceedings are slated for Wednesday morning, local time in Saipan, the largest island in the Mariana Islands.
The hearing is being held there due to Assange's reluctance to travel to mainland US and the court's closeness to Australia.
On Monday evening, ahead of a court hearing expected to result in his release, he left a British prison.
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