by Arjun Walia, The Pulse:
Finally, Julian Assange is free thanks to the grass roots power of people!
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from a UK prison and is heading back to Australia following his decision to plead guilty to a single charge under the US espionage law.
Assange, 52, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified US national defense documents, as stated in a filing with the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
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Assange was freed from Belmarsh’s high-security prison on Monday June 24th, 2024. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and released at Stansted Airport in the afternoon. There, he left the UK.
Assange is set to appear in a court in Saipan, a US Pacific territory, at 9am on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).
He will be sentenced to 62 months, which he has already served.
The man responsible for revealing the secrets of very powerful people committing war crimes and conspiracy is now free. Will the powerful be held accountable? Hmmm….
Assange spent 1901 days at Belmarsh prison.
WikiLeaks announced on Twitter (X), “JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE!”
They went on to say:
“This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised.
We will provide more information as soon as possible.
After more than five years in a 2×3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars.”
A video posted by WikiLeaks shows Assange in a blue shirt and jeans, signing a document before getting on a private jet. The statement confirmed he would return to Australia after the court hearing in Saipan.
Assange’s wife, Stella, expressed her happiness, calling it “incredible” that her husband would be freed. Speaking from Australia, she said, “I’m just elated. He will be a free man once the judge signs off, which will happen sometime tomorrow.”
Julian Assange’s journey began at London Stansted Airport at 5 PM (BST) on Monday, June 24. WikiLeaks thanked everyone who worked for his freedom, posting, “This is for everyone who worked for his freedom: thank you.”
Assange and WikiLeaks provided some of the most interesting leaks and information through their courageous work to hold the powerful accountable.
In 2010 WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified US documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with diplomatic cables.
Perhaps most notable is the release of a video showing a US Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad, which killed a dozen people, including two journalists, significantly raised the platform’s profile. I’d link our reporting of it from over a decade ago, but it has been taken down and so has the video, a chilling example of the censorship that went along with torturing Assange.
