SAIPAN: A US court has granted Julian Assange freedom following a plea deal, concluding a long legal saga for the WikiLeaks founder.
The 52-year-old WikiLeaks founder pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate US national defence information.
The judge in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US Pacific territory, said, “With this pronouncement, it appears that you will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man.”
The courtroom was filled with journalists and locals, some in colourful Hawaiian shirts, eager to witness the event. Assange, dressed in a black suit and brown tie, said in court, “Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide material that was said to be classified.” He received a sentence of five years and two months but was credited with time served in a British prison.
Kevin Rudd, the Australian ambassador to the US, attended the proceedings among others. He shared a brief laugh with Assange during a break. The Northern Mariana Islands was selected for the hearing due to Assange's reluctance to enter the continental US and its proximity to Australia.
After the hearing, Assange will travel to Canberra, Australia. WikiLeaks announced on social media platform X that the plea bargain "should never have had to happen."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the plea deal, calling it a "welcome development" and noting that Assange's case had "dragged on for too long" with "nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration."
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