WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange freed by US court after plea deal

• The judge says “you will be able to go free”.
• Assange pleads guilty to conspiracy to disseminate national defense information.
• The hearing was attended by Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.

SAIPAN: A US judge has freed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange following a plea deal that ended a lengthy legal battle.

The 52-year-old Wikileaks founder has faced accusations of publishing classified military documents, long sought by the US for revealing sensitive information.

The judge in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, said: “With this announcement, it looks like you will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man.” Assange had pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information.

“Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide material that was said to be classified,” he admitted.

Assange, dressed in a black suit and brown tie, appeared tired but relaxed. He shared a brief laugh with Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the US, during a break. The courtroom was packed with reporters and locals, some wearing colorful Hawaiian shirts.

Assange was sentenced to five years and two months in prison, but received credit for time served in a British prison. He had been released from Belmarsh prison in London’s maximum security on Monday.

The Northern Mariana Islands were chosen for the hearing because of Assange’s reluctance to enter the continental US and their proximity to Australia. Assange will fly to Canberra, Australia, after the hearing, WikiLeaks announced on social media platform X. The plea deal, they noted, “never should have happened.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the deal, saying it was a “welcome development” after his government argued Assange’s case had “taken too long” with “nothing to gain from his continued imprisonment”.