Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been released from the UK’s Belmarsh prison after agreeing to a plea deal with the United States. Assange, 52, will plead guilty to a single charge of breaching the US espionage law by conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents. The plea deal was filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
Assange was freed on Monday and flown out of the UK. He is scheduled to appear in a court in Saipan, a US Pacific territory, at 9am on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday) for sentencing. The court is expected to sentence him to 62 months, accounting for the time he has already served.
“Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks announced on X, adding that he spent 1901 days in Belmarsh prison. A video posted by WikiLeaks shows Assange signing a document and boarding a private jet at Stansted airport. The plane made a refueling stop in Bangkok before heading to the US territory.
Assange will return to Australia after the hearing in Saipan. His wife, Stella Assange, expressed her joy at his release, saying, “He will be a free man once it has been signed off by the judge.”
