Julian Assange in US for guilty plea deal

Airplane carrying Assange stopped for refuelling in Bangkok. Pic/AFP

Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange, who has been fighting against his extradition to the US on espionage charges for over a decade, has been freed from prison and flown out of the UK under a plea deal with the American authorities.

The 52-year-old Australian national was lodged at Belmarsh high-security prison in London since 2019 when he was taken into custody from the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he had sought asylum. It was revealed overnight on Monday that he has been freed. He was charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.

Assange will return to Australia, UK media reports said, citing a letter from the US Justice Department. In return for pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information, the activist will be sentenced to time served, 62 months, time already spent in a British prison, according to court documents. After a judge formally accepts this plea, Assange can return to his wife and children in Australia.

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