Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has returned to Australia after concluding a 12-year legal battle with the US government – KNfins

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has returned to Australia after concluding a 12-year legal battle with the US government

His release came after an agreement with the US Department of Justice, marking the end of a tumultuous period that included five years in a high-security prison in the UK and nearly seven years of asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Advertisements

Assange, 52, agreed to plead guilty regarding the release of nearly half a million classified US military documents by WikiLeaks, which revealed sensitive details about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a lengthy resistance against extradition, his decision to acknowledge guilt marks a significant conclusion in one of the most infamous legal cases concerning press freedom and government secrecy in the digital age.

Now, after years of legal uncertainty and imprisonment, Assange anticipates returning to his homeland, where he remains a polarizing figure and a symbol in debates over transparency, national security, and human rights.

Julian Assange is currently on his way to Australia following his release from the high-security Belmarsh prison in London. He boarded a flight from Stansted Airport on Monday, as announced by WikiLeaks in a statement released on Tuesday (25th).

According to the statement, Assange left prison after 1,901 days of detention. He is accompanied by the Australian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith, as confirmed by the Australian Prime Minister.

The judicial agreement between Assange and the U.S. Department of Justice stipulates that he will not be extradited to the United States but will instead face legal proceedings in a remote U.S. court in the Pacific. U.S. prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence of 62 months, corresponding to the time Assange spent in custody during his extradition battle in the United Kingdom.

If a federal judge approves this agreement, Assange could immediately return to Australia, thereby ending a long and complex legal saga that has had significant implications for the global debate over press freedom and national security.

Julian Assange was charged by the U.S. with espionage for WikiLeaks’ release of large amounts of classified military and government documents between 2010 and 2011, provided by Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst. These documents included unredacted diplomatic cables, which the U.S. claimed endangered the safety of confidential sources.

Assange resisted extradition to the U.S. for many years to avoid the charges on the U.S. mainland. A recent judicial agreement allowed him to avoid this fate by agreeing to plead guilty in a federal district court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific, where a joint hearing for plea and sentencing will take place. After this hearing, Assange is expected to return to Australia, his home country.

Julian Assange faced 18 charges related to his alleged role in the disclosure of classified documents and could face up to 175 years in prison, according to U.S. authorities. British officials sought guarantees that he would not face the death penalty.

Born in Townsville, Queensland, Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006 as an online platform for publishing anonymously submitted materials. The website gained international attention in 2010 by releasing a video allegedly showing a deadly U.S. helicopter attack in Iraq in 2007.

Shortly thereafter, WikiLeaks published thousands of classified U.S. military documents concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a number of confidential diplomatic cables.

These revelations made Assange a polarizing figure, viewed by some as a champion of transparency and by others as a criminal who jeopardized U.S. national security.

Julian Assange described in a statement to CNN the documents released by WikiLeaks as “compelling evidence of war crimes” committed by the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi government forces.

Assange has long argued that the case against him is politically motivated and feared he would not receive a fair trial, contending that his extradition would violate the European Convention on Human Rights. Free speech advocates sharply criticized the extradition attempt and warned of significant chilling effects on press freedom.

In August 2010, Assange faced allegations of sexual assault in Sweden, leading to an international arrest warrant. He vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as “a smear campaign,” and refused to travel to Stockholm for questioning, fearing he would be subsequently extradited to the U.S.

After voluntarily surrendering to British authorities and being released on bail in 2012, Julian Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. During his time in the embassy, WikiLeaks continued to release data, including thousands of allegedly hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and stolen emails from the private account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair, shortly before the 2016 U.S. elections.

However, the relationship between Assange and his host, Ecuador, deteriorated over time, as the U.S. exerted pressure on the Ecuadorian president to expel Assange from the embassy. In 2019, Assange was forcibly removed from the embassy by the London Metropolitan Police under a U.S. extradition warrant issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Since then, Assange has spent the last five years largely isolated in a cell in the high-security Belmarsh prison, known for housing high-profile terrorism suspects like the radical Egyptian cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri. The prison has a capacity of over 900 inmates and has been Assange’s home since his arrest in 2019.

Recently, there has been a significant increase in pressure to drop Julian Assange’s case. In May, the Supreme Court in London ruled that Assange has the right to appeal his extradition to the U.S. Furthermore, U.S. President Joe Biden hinted at the possibility of a resolution, under pressure from Australian officials, that would allow Assange to return to Australia.

In support of this position, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Amnesty International were among those urging the United Kingdom to suspend the possible extradition, expressing serious concerns about the risk of abuse and mistreatment if Assange were sent to the U.S.

Following his release on Monday, Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, announced on social media: “Julian is free!” She expressed deep gratitude to those who mobilized over the years to make this moment possible.

These recent developments reflect a growing support for Assange’s release and highlight concerns about justice, human rights, and press freedom in the context of the highly controversial case of the WikiLeaks founder.

The release of Julian Assange has sparked a range of reactions and comments worldwide, reflecting a mix of relief and support among various leaders and public figures. Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, expressed gratitude for the end of the torment her son had endured.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that regardless of views on Assange’s actions, the case had gone on for too long and that there was no longer any benefit in continuing his detention, emphasizing the desire for him to return to Australia.

Lenín Moreno, the former president of Ecuador, expressed satisfaction that Assange was not extradited to the U.S. In 2019, Moreno revoked the asylum that had been granted to Assange, enabling his removal from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Assange’s release also received support from international leaders, including the presidents of Colombia and Mexico. Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, emphasized that Assange’s prolonged detention and the challenges he faced were seen as an attack on press freedom worldwide.

These statements reflect a broad recognition of the significance of Assange’s case for human rights, freedom of expression, and the role of a free press in today’s society.

Picture of Ella Bailey
Ella Bailey

an editor at KNfins since 2024.

DISCLAIMER:

You will never be asked to make a payment to access any kind of product, including credit cards, loans, or other offers. If this happens, please contact us immediately. Always read the terms and conditions of the service provider you are contacting. We earn revenue through advertising and referrals for some, but not all, products displayed on this website. Everything published here is based on quantitative and qualitative research, and our team strives to be as fair as possible in comparing competing options.

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE:

We are an independent, objective, and advertising-supported editorial site. To support our ability to provide free content to our users, recommendations appearing on our site may come from companies from which we receive compensation as affiliates. This compensation may affect the manner, location, and order in which offers appear on our site. Other factors, such as our own proprietary algorithms and first-party data, may also affect how and where products/offers are placed. We do not include on our website all financial or credit offers currently available in the market.

EDITORIAL NOTE:

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by any of the entities mentioned in the message. That said, the compensation we receive from our affiliate partners does not influence the recommendations or advice that our team of writers provides in our articles, nor does it in any way affect the content of this website. Although we work hard to provide accurate and up-to-date information that we believe our users will find relevant, we cannot guarantee that all provided information is complete and make no statement or warranty regarding its accuracy or applicability.