London: After nearly 12 years of seeking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange finally breathed a sigh of freedom. His legal battle, spanning multiple continents, has come to an end with a groundbreaking plea deal struck with the US Justice Department.
The Deal Details
Assange, who had been in custody in Britain, is set to appear in a US court this week. He will confess to obtaining and disclosing national defense information, a charge stemming from one of the largest publications of classified material in American history. The court documents reveal that Assange will be sentenced to a maximum of 62 months in jail, including credit for the five years he spent in a British prison. This means he can soon return to his native Australia.
Reunion with Family
WikiLeaks announced on Tuesday that “Julian Assange is released” and has left Britain. After enduring over five years of isolation in a cramped 2×3 meter cell, he will soon reunite with his wife, Stella Assange, and their children, who have known their father only from behind bars.
Hero or Villain?
Assange, the 52-year-old publisher, gained global attention in 2010 when he published hundreds of thousands of secret documents from the US Defense Department on his whistleblower website. While some hailed him as a hero for championing freedom of expression, others considered him a villain, accusing him of endangering American national security and intelligence sources.
American officials had long sought to prosecute Assange for revealing military secrets related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2019, a US federal grand jury convicted him on 18 counts. However, this plea deal marks the end of his legal drama, allowing him to finally return to his country as a free man.
