Julian Assange is free!

• Julian Assange has agreed to a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, which will allow him to be released from prison in the U.K. and return to Australia.[2][3][4]

• Under the deal, Assange will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents.[2][3][4]

• This will result in Assange being sentenced to 62 months in prison, which he has already served during his time in the U.K. prison system.[4]

• The deal avoids Assange facing a lengthy prison sentence in the U.S. if he had been extradited and convicted on the original 18 charges he was facing, mainly under the Espionage Act.[3]

• Assange’s supporters argue the charges against him were politically motivated and a threat to press freedom, as he was the publisher and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks which released classified information.[2][5]

Julian Assange is now free and will be able to return to his home country of Australia after spending over five years detained in the U.K. and fighting extradition to the U.S.[2][3][4]

Citations:
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/25/julian-assange-wikileaks-press-freedom-biden-administration
[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/25/julian-assange-is-free-wikileaks-founder-freed-in-deal-with-us
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgggyvp0j9o
[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/julian-assange-reached-plea-deal-us-allowing-go-free-rcna158695
[5] https://www.ifj.org/actions/ifj-campaigns/free-assange-now