by Dan Frieth, Reclaim The Net:
With a turning point in the saga of journalist, activist, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, federal court documents reveal that he has consented to a plea agreement with the US Justice Department.
We obtained a copy of the court filings for you here.
This deal stipulated that Assange would plead guilty to a felony charge linked to one of the most significant breaches of US classified information. However, it notably spares him from serving any time in a US prison by recognizing the duration he has already spent incarcerated.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
According to Wikileaks, Assange has already been released from Belmarsh maximum security prison in the UK. After 1,901 days—more than five years—behind bars, Assange walked free on the morning of June 24. His release was facilitated by a High Court decision in London granting him bail. By the afternoon, Assange was at Stansted airport, boarding a plane to leave the UK.
Julian Assange’s legal battle has captured global attention, particularly highlighting issues of freedom of information and the rights of journalists and whistleblowers. Under the deal’s terms, Assange is sentenced to 62 months, equivalent to the time he has already served in a high-security London facility while contesting his extradition to the US.
The backdrop to this development includes Assange’s initial indictment in 2019, which comprised 18 counts related to his purported involvement in publishing classified US documents, notably related to the controversial Iraq war.
Assange’s role primarily involved the dissemination of sensitive US military documents that had been leaked by Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, during 2010 and 2011.
These documents included swathes of unredacted US diplomatic communications and other sensitive material such as Iraq war logs, details concerning Guantanamo Bay detainees, and evidence that the US was involved in the killing of two Reuters journalists.
