WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been released from prison in the UK after pleading guilty to a single charge of violating U.S. espionage laws.
Earlier on Monday, Assange was released from a high-security prison in the UK and was seen boarding a plane to leave the country at London Stansted Airport at 5 p.m. local time.
According to court documents, Assange is set to appear in the U.S. District Court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the western Pacific Ocean, on Wednesday.
Once Assange case is accepted by a judge, he will be able to return to Australia.
U.S. Justice Department prosecutors have recommended a 62-month prison sentence as part of the plea deal, CBS News reported, marking the upper limit for a single-count offence.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Assange would avoid U.S. custody entirely by receiving credit for the approximately five years he has already spent in a UK prison battling extradition to the U.S.
War on Terror abuses
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Responding to Assange’s release, advocacy group CAGE said it is a victory that ends his persecution for exposing War On Terror abuses.
“His offence has always been exposing the war crimes, torture, and abuses perpetrated by U.S., British, and other Western forces during the unlawful invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq,” CAGE said in a statement.
“Assange took a plea deal that ensured he can return home to his family and bring an end to his 12 year ordeal and leave the UK as a free man. Despite facing immense personal risks to his health and safety, his selfless and courageous actions brought to light countless abuses and assisted many others in getting justice and holding those in power to account. From the Guantanamo Files to the Afghanistan and Iraq Cables, Assange and Wikileaks shed a spotlight on the atrocities committed during the War on Terror.
“The UK-US UK-US Extradition Treaty of 2003, ratified without Parliamentary scrutiny and approval, is an entirely lopsided arrangement that undermines the sovereignty of the UK’s judicial system. While the U.S. can demand extradition without presenting evidence of guilt, the UK is held to stringent standards in extraditing individuals from the U.S. Such flagrant inequality not only undermines principles of justice but also compromises the independence of the UK.
“Despite today’s significant victory, representing a milestone in the fight for justice and free speech, we must not forget the Muslim lives that have been destroyed by the UK-U.S. Extradition Treaty. The extraditions of Babar Ahmad, Talha Ahsan, Abu Hamza and co, exemplify the UK government’s abandonment of its responsibilities to its citizens and the outsourcing of its judicial system to the U.S. These UK citizens faced and in the case of Abu Hamza, continue to face torturous conditions in U.S. supermax prisons.”
Muhammad Rabbani, Managing Director of CAGE International, added: “The decision to release Julian Assange has brought an end to more than a decade-long persecution. It’s the final episode of an open conspiracy that sought to silence, arguably, the most consequential whistleblower in modern times.
“Assange’s case exemplifies how a power originally conceived to target Muslims, has expanded to infringe upon the rights of wider society. Assange himself warned that the injustices faced by Muslim communities could soon be inflicted upon others. It’s time we heed his call, celebrate his freedom and continue to demand an end to the War on Terror so no one has to go through this same ordeal again.”
Here is the timeline of Assange’s legal battle:
2006: Assange establishes WikiLeaks in Australia, beginning publication of sensitive or classified documents.
2010: WikiLeaks releases nearly half a million documents relating to the U.S. invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
August 2010: Swedish prosecutors issue his arrest warrant after one woman accuses him of rape and another of molestation.
September 2010: Sweden’s director of prosecutions reopens rape investigation. Assange leaves Sweden for Britain.
November 2010: Swedish police issue his international arrest warrant.
December 2010: He surrenders to police in London, and his extradition hearing begins.
February 2011: A British district court rules that Assange to be extradited to Sweden.
June 2012: He flees to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, seeking asylum after exhausting all appeals against the extradition ruling.
August 2012: Ecuador grants him political asylum.
August 2015: Swedish prosecutors close investigations into certain allegations against him due to the statute of limitations, but an investigation into a rape allegation is still ongoing.
September 2018: Ecuador announces that it is collaborating with the UK on a legal resolution to allow him to leave the embassy.
April 2019: Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno accuses WikiLeaks of recent corruption allegations and asks his government to withdraw Assange’s asylum status.
April 2019: British police arrest him at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
May 2019: The U.S. indicts Assange on 18 charges related to WikiLeaks’ release of classified documents.
November 2019: Swedish prosecutor closes his rape investigation.
June 2022: The UK orders his extradition to the U.S. and he files an appeal.
June 24, 2024: Assange agrees to plead guilty to violating the U.S. Espionage Act and is granted credit for the five years he has already served in prison. Following his release, he leaves the UK.
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