Julian Assange to Be Freed After Accepting US Plea Deal

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Facts

  • Ending a years-long legal battle with the US, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from prison in the UK. This comes after he agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of violating the Espionage Act as part of a deal with the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) that will see him go free.1
  • Under the agreement, which must still be approved by a federal judge, prosecutors will seek a sentence of 62 months' imprisonment in exchange for the guilty plea. The period of time is equivalent to the time Assange has been imprisoned in the UK — set to be taken into account as time served, allowing him to return to his native Australia when the deal is completed.2
  • Initially, the US wanted Assange in connection with 18 charges relating to WikiLeaks' publication of classified US documents. If extradited from the UK and found guilty, he would have faced a maximum prison sentence of 175 years.3
  • However, under the plea agreement, disclosed as a result of legal filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, Assange is traveling to the US territory in the Western Pacific where he is scheduled for a court appearance on Wednesday.4
  • Prosecutors said the hearing is taking place there because of Assange's opposition to traveling to continental America, as well as the court's proximity to Australia.5
  • Assange departed on a flight from Stansted Airport in the UK at 5:00 p.m. (local time) on Monday and reportedly headed to Bangkok, Thailand for a stopover. A video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by WikiLeaks showed Assange boarding a private jet and signing a document before departure.6

Sources: 1BBC News, 2Al Jazeera, 3CNN, 4Independent, 5Associated Press and 6Reuters.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Independent. This is wonderful news, bringing an end to a 14-year prosecution of a journalist that should've never been started in the first place. It's disappointing that Assange will plead guilty — as he did nothing wrong in publishing documents that revealed US government wrongdoing — but it is good that his ordeal is finally coming to an end.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Daily Mail. Assange endangered the lives of American troops in wartime and should face justice for his theft and publication of classified government documents. This plea deal is a massive miscarriage of justice and is a disservice to all the men and women who serve the US.