WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Released from UK Prison, Reaches Plea Deal with US
TapTechNews June 25th, according to a court document, Julian Assange, the co-founder of WikiLeaks, has been released from a UK prison and has reached a plea deal with the US.
WikiLeaks officially announced that Julian Assange has regained his freedom. On the morning of June 24 local time, he left the UK's Belmarsh maximum security prison, where he had spent 1901 days (TapTechNews note: more than five years). He received bail approval from the London High Court and was released at Stansted Airport that afternoon, where he boarded a plane and left the UK to return to Australia.
WikiLeaks also stated that the efforts of people from all over the world have created the space for their long-term negotiations with the US Department of Justice, eventually reaching an agreement that has not yet been officially finalized, and the official will provide more information as soon as possible.
Assange spent more than five years in a 2 by 3 meter prison cell with only 1 hour of outdoor time every day. Now, he will soon be reunited with his wife Stella Assange and their children.
A letter from US Department of Justice official Matthew McKenzie revealed that Assange will plead guilty in court on Saipan, a US territory in the Pacific, at 9 am local time on Wednesday, June 26 (7 am Beijing time). The letter also said that the defendant (Assange) objects to going to the US mainland for a guilty plea, and it is expected that he will return to Australia after the lawsuit ends.
Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006. In 2010, the website published a large number of secret documents of the US government related to the Afghan and Iraq wars, dealing an unprecedented blow to the US diplomatic image and causing sensation and controversy.
In 2019, Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Assange participated in a hearing held at a court in London, UK via video. He said, I don't want to be extradited to the US.