Julian Assange, a co-founder of WikiLeaks, has been discharged from prison.
he was released after five years of sentence at London’s Belmarsh Prison.
This is a significant breakthrough in the protracted legal fight against Assange’s extradition to the United States, which his team revealed today, Tuesday 25th June 2024.
“Assange Julian is at liberty. On June 24, in the morning, he departed Belmarsh Maximum Security Prison, having been inside for 1901 days, according to a post made by WikiLeaks on X (previously Twitter).
“The London High Court granted him bail, and he was freed in the afternoon at Stansted airport, where he boarded an aircraft and left the United Kingdom.”
“As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom,” WikiLeaks wrote.
Remember when Assange was prosecuted for allegedly disclosing confidential information?
Under Assange’s direction, WikiLeaks has released numerous top-secret papers, including a wealth of US diplomatic cables and records about the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A video of a US military helicopter bombing civilians in Baghdad in 2007 after mistaking them for rebels was released by the organisation in 2010.
Australian native Julian Assange has been detained in the UK since 2019, which sparked a protracted judicial battle that questioned press freedom and the public’s right to know.
Assange will soon strike a plea deal in order to avoid further time behind bars, according to newly filed court documents.
According to a letter from the DOJ, he will appear in court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, at 9am local time on Wednesday.
The DOJ said it expects Assange to return to his home country of Australia after the proceedings.
According to WikiLeaks the international campaign to free Assange has created “the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised.”
