WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleads guilty
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of conspiring to obtain and distribute sensitive US national defense material and was released, bringing an end to years of legal fights.
Assange, 52, filed the plea during a US District Court hearing on Saipan on the Northern Mariana Islands, a US-controlled territory chosen because of his refusal to go to the mainland United States and its near to his home country, Australia.
As part of his guilty agreement with US authorities, Assange will be obliged to destroy the information handed to WikiLeaks. He is set to receive a five-year, two-month sentence, with credit for time served in a British prison resisting extradition.
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“Guilty to the information,” Assange stated in court, later joking with the judge that his satisfaction “depends on the outcome of the hearing.”
Assange turns 53 on July 3
Chief Judge Ramona Manglona wished Assange, who turns 53 on July 3, an early happy birthday.
“I understand that your birthday is next week. “I hope you will start your new life on a positive note,” she told Assange, according to the Washington Post.
The plea agreement spares Assange a protracted trial and a possible prison sentence, as he has long been wanted by the US for the 2010 publishing of hundreds of thousands of sensitive papers via WikiLeaks.
He was released earlier this week from a high-security British jail where he had spent five years. His wife, Stella, referred to him as a “free man” and praised those who advocated for his release.
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Australian government welcomes the resolution
The plea agreement spares Assange a protracted trial and a possible prison sentence, as he has long been wanted by the US for the 2010 publishing of hundreds of thousands of sensitive papers via WikiLeaks.
He was released earlier this week from a high-security British jail where he had spent five years. His wife, Stella, referred to him as a “free man” and praised those who advocated for his release.
