Washington: Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 26 to a single felony charge of publishing controversial data of US military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secured his freedom and also ended a 15-year-long legal saga.
The plea was heard in a federal court in Saipan, where Assange arrived shortly before the hearing wearing a dark suit with a tie loosened at the collar.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arives at the United States courthouse.
In the deal, the prosecutors wanted the WikiLeaks founder to admit guilt to a single felony count, while also permitting him to return to his native Australia without spending any more in prison. He had been in jail for the past five years.
Through this abrupt conclusion, both sides claimed a degree of victory, with the Justice Department able to resolve without trial a case that raised thorny legal issues, which might have never reached a jury at all given the plodding pace of the extradition process.
The guilty plea resolves the criminal case brought by then US president Donald Trump‘s administration’s Justice Department in connection with the receipt and publication of war logs and diplomatic cables that detailed US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Prosecutors alleged that Assange conspired with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain the records and published them without regard to American national security, including by releasing the names of human sources who provided information to US forces.
Meanwhile, talking to BBC, Assange’s wife Stella said that she is “elated” at the news as her husband flew on a chartered jet to Saipan en route to walking free.
Following this, WikiLeaks, the secret-spilling website, founded by Assange in 2006, applauded the deal’s announcement, saying it was grateful for “all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.”
The deal, disclosed Monday night in a sparsely detailed Justice Department letter, that represented the latest and presumably final chapter in a court fight involving the eccentric Australian editor who drew global supporters as a ‘transparency crusader’. However, drew huge criticism from national security hawks who insist that his disdain for government secrecy put lives at risk and strayed far beyond the bounds of traditional journalism duties.
(Inputs from AP)
Julian Assange Pleads Guilty in WikiLeaks Espionage Case in Deal With US That Secures His Freedom world-news World News | Latest International Global World News | Todays Breaking News Headlines
