After a years-long legal saga, Wikileaks says that founder Julian Assange has left the UK after reaching a deal with US authorities that will see him plead guilty to criminal charges and go free.
Assange, 52, was charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. For years, the US has argued that the Wikileaks files – which disclosed information about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars – endangered lives. He has spent the last five years in a British prison, from where he has been fighting extradition to the US.
According to CBS, the BBC’s US partner, Assange will spend no time in US custody and will receive credit for the time spent incarcerated in the UK. Assange will return to Australia, according to a letter from the justice department.
In April, US President Joe Biden said that he was considering a request from Australia to drop the prosecution against Assange.
In a victory the following month, the UK High Court ruled that Assange can bring a new appeal against extradition to the US, allowing him to challenge US assurances over how his prospective trial would be conducted and whether his right to free speech would be infringed. After the ruling, his wife Stella told reporters and supporters that the Biden administration “should distance itself from this shameful prosecution”.
US prosecutors had originally wanted to try the Wikileaks founder on 18 counts – mostly under the Espionage Act – over the release of confidential US military records and diplomatic messages related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Rawr
Article URL : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgggyvp0j9o