WikiLeaks said its founder Julian Assange had left a British prison and flown out of the UK, after US prosecutors said he should plead guilty this week to violating US espionage laws, in a deal that could allow him to be freed. back home to Australia, ending a 14-year legal odyssey.
Assange, 52, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified US national defense documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
At the hearing in Saipan on Wednesday, he should be sentenced to 62 months in prison, which he has already served. The Pacific island was chosen because of Assange's opposition to traveling to the US mainland and its proximity to Australia, prosecutors said.
"This is the result of a global campaign that included grassroots organizers, press freedom activists, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations," WikiLeaks said in a statement.
In a video released by WikiLeaks on the X network, Assange, dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, is seen signing a document before boarding a private jet with charter company VistaJet markings.
He will return to Australia after the hearing, the WikiLeaks statement added, referring to the Saipan hearing.
"Julian is free," wrote his wife, Stella Assange, on the X network.
"Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU – yes YOU, who have mobilized for years to make this happen," she added.
The only VistaJet plane to take off from Stansted on Monday afternoon was bound for Bangkok, FlightRadar24 data shows. Assange's spokesman in Australia declined to comment on his flight plans. VistaJet did not respond to questions from Reuters.
The Australian government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has been pressing for Assange's release, but has declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
"Prime Minister Albanez was clear – the case of Mr. Assange has dragged on for too long and nothing can be gained by his further imprisonment," said a government spokesman.
Assange is accused of massively releasing classified US documents, which were leaked by Chelsea Manning, a former US military intelligence analyst who is also being prosecuted under the Espionage Act.
The more than 700.000 documents included diplomatic cables and battlefield reports, such as a 2007 video of a US Apache helicopter firing on suspected insurgents in Iraq, killing a dozen people, including two Reuters journalists. That video was published in 2010.
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