Julian Assange has secured a plea deal with the United States, which allows him to go free
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge linked to a major breach of US government classified materials, in exchange for avoiding prison time in the United States, according to recently filed federal court documents.
The plea agreement documents were submitted Monday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. Under the deal, Assange is expected to be sentenced to 62 months, with credit for time already served in a British prison, enabling his return to Australia, his birthplace.
The U.S. accusations against Assange are tied to one of the largest disclosures of classified information in U.S. history, occurring during President Barack Obama's first term. Allegedly, starting in late 2009, Assange collaborated with Chelsea Manning, a military intelligence analyst, to leak vast amounts of sensitive data through his WikiLeaks platform. This included numerous reports on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, State Department cables, and assessments of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Assange has spent the last five years in Belmarsh Prison, London, and previously seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he sought asylum. His asylum ended abruptly in April 2019 when he was arrested after being physically removed from the embassy. A superseding indictment against him was filed in May 2019, with another following in June 2020.
In April, President Joe Biden acknowledged considering an Australian request to cease Assange’s prosecution. The following month, the UK High Court granted Assange the right to appeal against extradition to the U.S., providing him a chance to contest the trial conditions and potential infringement on his freedom of speech rights.
Despite ongoing legal challenges, Assange has remained largely out of public view and reportedly suffers from declining health, including experiencing a minor stroke in prison in 2021.
