What is the new US plea deal with Julian Assange and when will he be released

New Delhi:

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is expected to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified US national defense documents as part of a deal with the Biden administration. This agreement is expected to bring an end to Assange’s legal saga, which lasted almost 15 years.

Case against Assange

The case against Assange stems from WikiLeaks’ publication of sensitive US military documents, war logs and diplomatic cables between 2010 and 2011. These revelations, including footage of a US airstrike in Baghdad, constituted one of the largest breaches of US secrets. State in US history. . Assange was accused of conspiring with Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, to obtain classified materials.

Chelsea Manning, who leaked the documents, was convicted in 2013 but had her 35-year prison sentence commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017.

The US criminally charged Assange in 2019 under the Trump administration with violating the Espionage Act and sought to extradite him from the United Kingdom, where he has been imprisoned ever since. The initial charges – 17 related to espionage and one to computer misuse – carried a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison if he was found guilty on all counts.

Judicial agreement

Assange, 52, agreed to plead guilty to violating US espionage law. As part of the deal, he will be sentenced to 62 months, which corresponds to the time he has already served in UK prisons. The sentencing will take place at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands.

After sentencing, he will return to his home in Australia.

Global Campaign and Support

During his ordeal, Assange became a hero to free speech advocates around the world and a villain to those who thought he endangered U.S. national security and intelligence sources by revealing secrets.

He spent more than a decade in custody or hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, trying to avoid extradition. Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison for five years.

According to WikiLeaks, Assange’s plea deal and imminent return to Australia are the result of a global campaign involving grassroots organizers, press freedom advocates, lawmakers and leaders from various political backgrounds. This support extended to international organizations such as the United Nations.