Breaking down Julian Assange's plea deal: US espionage charge explained
WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, was released from a London jail earlier today, after spending five years fighting extradition to the US. The release followed a plea deal with the United States Justice Department. WikiLeaks announced his freedom in a statement saying Assange is free after having spent 1,901 days in Belmarsh maximum security prison. Here, we take a look at the plea deal and what it means for Assange.
Assange's plea deal with the US government
As part of the plea deal, Assange is expected to plead guilty to a single US Espionage Act charge. The US Department of Justice stated,"... we anticipate that the defendant will plead guilty to the charge in the Information of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. SS 793(g), and be sentenced by the Court for that offense."
Assange's upcoming court appearance and sentence
Under the plea agreement, Assange will travel to the US for a day to enter his guilty plea at the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. The hearing is expected later this week. Although he will be sentenced at this hearing, it is anticipated that he may not serve further jail time as he is expected to receive credit for the five years already served in London.
Assange's return to Australia post-sentencing
Following his sentencing, Assange is set to return to his native Australia. His release marks a significant turn in a saga that began in 2009 when WikiLeaks published thousands of classified documents on the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This included a video featuring a US military aircraft killing Iraqi civilians and two journalists. At the time of writing, Assange's flight arrived in Bangkok for a layover and will land in the Mariana Islands in the next 24 hours.
