Washington: Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks will walk free from prison after he pleads guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the US Justice Department, resolving a long-running legal saga over the controversy of publishing classified documents.
The Justice Department in a letter filed in the federal court said that Assange is expected to appear in the court in the Mariana Islands to plead guilty to an ‘Espionage Act’ charge of conspiring to obtain and disseminate classified national defence information unlawfully.
Assange is expected to return to Australia after his plea and sentencing after the judge approves the plea. If the plea is approved then it will bring an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case of ‘international intrigue’ and to the US government’s years-long pursuit of a publisher whose hugely popular secret-sharing website caused fame among many press freedom advocates who said he acted as a journalist to expose US military wrongdoing.
Among the files published by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by the American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.
Many heralded Assange across the world as a hero who brought light to the wrongdoing of the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. Press advocates and Assange supporters criticized the case pulled up against him.
However, investigators, by contrast, have repeatedly asserted that his actions broke laws meant to protect sensitive information and put the country’s national security at risk.
His reputation was also tarnished by rape allegations, which he has denied.
Assange’s family and supporters have said that his physical and mental health suffered during the decade-long legal battles, including seven years spent inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
The plea agreement comes months after US President Joe Biden said he was considering a request from Australia to drop the US push to prosecute Assange.
(Inputs from AP)
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