NEW DELHI: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, admitted to one felony count related to the publication of classified US military information. The plea agreement, reached with prosecutors from the Justice Department, ensures his release and brings an end to a prolonged legal battle that sparked contentious debates surrounding press freedom and national security concerns.
“Guilty to the information,” Assange said, later joking to the judge during the proceedings that whether he is satisfied “depends on the outcome of the hearing”.
Assange, dressed in a black suit and ochre-colored tie with his hair slicked back, was present at the hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands, a Pacific US territory.
The US Justice Department agreed to hold the hearing on the remote island due to Assange’s opposition to coming to the continental US and its proximity to Australia, where he will return after entering his plea. The deal, disclosed Monday night in court papers, represents the conclusion of a more than decade-long legal journey for Assange, whose popular secret-sharing website made him a champion among press freedom advocates who believed he acted as a journalist to expose US military wrongdoing. However, US prosecutors have argued that his actions recklessly endangered the country’s national security.
Although the deal with prosecutors requires Assange to admit guilt to a single felony count, it also allows him to avoid serving any time in an American prison. He will receive credit for the five years he has already spent in a high-security British prison while fighting extradition to the US to face charges. Prior to his imprisonment in London, Assange spent years hiding out in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he has denied.
WikiLeaks says Assange to fly to Canberra within hours
Assange, is set to fly to Canberra, Australia, in the coming hours, according to a statement released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday.
According to the social media post by WikiLeaks, Assange is “Expected to depart in 2 hours, 58 minutes. To Canberra, Australia.” The plea deal is anticipated to pave the way for his release and subsequent journey to the Australian capital.
What did WikiLeaks publish that sparked controversy?
In April 2010, WikiLeaks published a video depicting a US helicopter attack in Baghdad from 2007, which resulted in the deaths of twelve individuals, including two journalists from Reuters. The release of the classified video led to the arrest of Bradley Manning, a US military specialist, in June.
Subsequently, in July, WikiLeaks disclosed over 91,000 documents, primarily consisting of confidential US military reports pertaining to the war in Afghanistan. This was followed by the release of approximately 400,000 classified US military files in October, which detailed the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009.
These disclosures constituted the most extensive leaks of their kind in the history of the US military. Later in the same year, WikiLeaks released thousands of US diplomatic cables, which contained frank assessments of foreign leaders and candid evaluations of security threats. Among these cables were messages from the former king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah, “repeatedly urging the United States to attack Iran’s nuclear program” and others concerning China orchestrating cyberattacks against the United States.
“Guilty to the information,” Assange said, later joking to the judge during the proceedings that whether he is satisfied “depends on the outcome of the hearing”.
Assange, dressed in a black suit and ochre-colored tie with his hair slicked back, was present at the hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands, a Pacific US territory.
The US Justice Department agreed to hold the hearing on the remote island due to Assange’s opposition to coming to the continental US and its proximity to Australia, where he will return after entering his plea. The deal, disclosed Monday night in court papers, represents the conclusion of a more than decade-long legal journey for Assange, whose popular secret-sharing website made him a champion among press freedom advocates who believed he acted as a journalist to expose US military wrongdoing. However, US prosecutors have argued that his actions recklessly endangered the country’s national security.
Although the deal with prosecutors requires Assange to admit guilt to a single felony count, it also allows him to avoid serving any time in an American prison. He will receive credit for the five years he has already spent in a high-security British prison while fighting extradition to the US to face charges. Prior to his imprisonment in London, Assange spent years hiding out in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he has denied.
WikiLeaks says Assange to fly to Canberra within hours
Assange, is set to fly to Canberra, Australia, in the coming hours, according to a statement released by WikiLeaks on Wednesday.
According to the social media post by WikiLeaks, Assange is “Expected to depart in 2 hours, 58 minutes. To Canberra, Australia.” The plea deal is anticipated to pave the way for his release and subsequent journey to the Australian capital.
What did WikiLeaks publish that sparked controversy?
In April 2010, WikiLeaks published a video depicting a US helicopter attack in Baghdad from 2007, which resulted in the deaths of twelve individuals, including two journalists from Reuters. The release of the classified video led to the arrest of Bradley Manning, a US military specialist, in June.
Subsequently, in July, WikiLeaks disclosed over 91,000 documents, primarily consisting of confidential US military reports pertaining to the war in Afghanistan. This was followed by the release of approximately 400,000 classified US military files in October, which detailed the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009.
These disclosures constituted the most extensive leaks of their kind in the history of the US military. Later in the same year, WikiLeaks released thousands of US diplomatic cables, which contained frank assessments of foreign leaders and candid evaluations of security threats. Among these cables were messages from the former king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah, “repeatedly urging the United States to attack Iran’s nuclear program” and others concerning China orchestrating cyberattacks against the United States.
