- As expected, a US court on the Pacific island of Saipan sentenced Assange last night to more than five years in prison, which the Wikileaks founder has already served in a maximum security prison in England.
- Assange pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and distribute classified U.S. defense documents.
- He left the courtroom as a free man and made his way to Australia, where he is expected to arrive around noon Swiss time.
In 2006, Assange founded the platform Wikileaks with the mission of supporting whistleblowers and bringing hidden information to light. From 2010 onwards, Wikileaks published secret material on US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
Onward journey to Australia begun
The USA then accused Assange of stealing and publishing secret material, thereby endangering the lives of US informants. For a long time, the American judiciary wanted to put Assange on trial for espionage charges. He would have faced up to 175 years in prison in the USA. Assange has now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain and pass on secret US defense documents and has been released.
Legend:
Julian Assange arrived in the remote US territory, the Mariana Islands of Saipan, for his trial on Wednesday.
EPA/Samantha Salamon
He left the courtroom on the US Pacific island of Saipan after the hearing and made his way to the Australian capital Canberra. The chartered private jet is expected to land in Canberra on Wednesday at around 7:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. Swiss time). According to media reports, Assange plans to make his first public statement after his arrival.
“We firmly believe that Mr. Assange should never have been charged under the Espionage Act and was carrying out an activity that journalists do every day,” his US attorney Barry Pollack told reporters. Wikileaks’ work will continue.
No entry into the USA without permission
Assange was released from prison in London on Monday without being noticed by the public and left the country. After a stopover in the Thai capital Bangkok, he finally flew on to Saipan.
Julian Assange is not allowed to return to the United States unless he receives permission, the US Department of Justice announced after the Wikileaks founder pleaded guilty and was released. “In accordance with the plea agreement, Assange is prohibited from returning to the United States without permission,” the department said in a statement.
Five years in prison and seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy
It is the adventurous end of a years-long odyssey with many legal battles. Assange began his sentence in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London about five years ago.
Before his arrest in April 2019, he had evaded law enforcement for seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. They had initially targeted him on rape charges in Sweden, but those charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.
While the USA demanded Assange’s extradition for years, human rights organisations, journalists’ associations and people from the arts and politics called for his immediate release. The Australian government also campaigned for the release of its citizen.