Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, pleaded guilty to a violation of US espionage laws on Wednesday and was sentenced to 62 months in prison. During the hearing, Assange acknowledged that he had urged his source, US soldier Chelsea Manning, to provide classified material. He believed that the First Amendment of the US Constitution protected his actions but ultimately confessed to violating the Espionage Act. The judge, Ramona V. Manglona, announced that Assange could leave the courtroom as a free individual.
After his court appearance, Assange boarded a plane bound for Canberra in Australia and is expected to arrive home by 11:30 am. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed contentment over Assange’s repatriation and said there was no point in detaining him any longer. The Australian government had been involved in the case through various channels and was proud of the positive outcome of their efforts.
Assange was facing eighteen charges in the United States and risked a 175-year prison sentence for publishing confidential information on American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, under a negotiated deal with the US government, he agreed not to go to the mainland United States but would settle for his freedom in the Mariana Islands, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.
