WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was freed for the first time in 12 years after a US judge upheld his surprise deal with the US Department of Justice on Wednesday morning.
Crowds of journalists and supporters awaited Assange, who left the courtroom with one arm raised to speak briefly to the press before heading to the airport where a plane to the Australian capital, Canberra, was waiting for him.
![Assange is now free, he flies to Australia (photos, video) 1 plane](https://thegurumedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/plane.jpg)
Speaking outside court, Assange’s US lawyer Barry Pollack said he had “suffered greatly in his fight for freedom of expression and freedom of the press”.
“The prosecution of Julian Assange is unprecedented in 100 years of the Espionage Act,” Pollack told reporters. “Assange has revealed truthful and remarkable information… We firmly believe that Mr. Assange should never have been charged under the Espionage Act,” he stressed.
In a surprising development, the 52-year-old Australian was released from a maximum security prison in London on Monday afternoon and had already boarded a private jet to leave the UK before the world even found out about his deal with the US yesterday. , Tuesday.
Julian Assange walks free.
Photography: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters pic.twitter.com/7S9Vlj9lws
-WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 26, 2024
“I’m guilty”
He appeared in a US court in the Northern Mariana Islands to formalize the agreement, formally pleading guilty to conspiracy to illegally obtain and disclose classified information for his alleged role in one of the largest breaches of classified material in US military history.
“I am, in fact, guilty as charged,” Assange said in court on the island of Saipan. The remote Pacific island chain is a US territory, located about 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) west of Hawaii.
Asked by judge Ramona Manlona to describe what she had done, she said: “Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be confidential so that this information could be published. I believe the First Amendment protected this activity… I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act conflict with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all these circumstances.”
![Assange is now free, he flies to Australia (photos, video) 2 assange profil](https://thegurumedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/assange-profil.jpg)
Why was Saipan chosen?
Assange – who has long been deeply suspicious of the US, going so far as to accuse it of plotting his murder – was reluctant to set foot on the US mainland, so prosecutors requested that all proceedings be held in one day in court US federal government, based on Saipan, the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Justice Department prosecutors also said the island court was chosen because it is closer to Australia, where Assange would eventually travel after his legal battle ends.
Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to Washington and former prime minister who helped facilitate negotiations with the US, watched the court proceedings.