Assange freed and bound for Australia after deal
WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange is travelling to his native Australia following his dramatic release from a UK prison after five years of fighting extradition to the United States.
He had to pay half a million US dollars for a chartered flight from Stansted, accompanied by a Wikileaks lawyer, a representative of the Australian government, and a medic to check on his health.
His wife Stella said her relief at his release was coupled with anger that he had spent so long in prison.
She told the PA news agency that she travelled to Australia with the couple’s two young sons, Gabriel and Max, on Sunday, when it became clear that Assange would be freed.
He has reached a plea deal with US authorities which is set to be formalised early today, with details expected to be released after that. He will plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of obtaining and disclosing information of national importance, with a proposed sentence of time served.
He will return to his home country of Australia after his plea and sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday morning local time in the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific.
Speaking from Australia, Mrs Assange said: “It is hard to believe that Julian has been in prison for so long. It had become normalised.
“I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this.
“Overall I am elated, but I cannot believe it is actually happening until I see Julian.”
Mrs Assange said her husband’s release would not have happened without the intervention of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,
who has been increasingly vocal in demands for the United States to drop charges against Assange.
She added: “the public climate has shifted and everyone understands that Julian has been the victim.
“Things are still very sensitive. Julian is paying for the flight so we will launch a fundraising campaign.”
She had a video call with her husband from Sydney, showing him pictures of the Opera House.
She revealed that Assange left London’s Belmarsh Prison in the early hours of Monday and spent several hours at Stansted in Essex before his flight left.
In a High Court order, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson said Assange left the jurisdiction of England and Wales at 6.36pm on Monday, after the plea agreement was signed on June 19. The judges added that it was “anticipated that a plea will be entered and accepted on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, after which the United States have undertaken to withdraw the extradition request”.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said a bail hearing for Julian Assange was held in private on June 20.
This was at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, PA understands.
John Sheehan, head of extradition at the CPS, said: “This has been a highly complex matter, involving advising and representing the Swedish and US authorities.
“In this period, the CPS’S extradition unit has faced and dealt with novel and challenging legal issues.”
“Mr Assange has also utilised all the legal protections available to him.
Mr Sheehan added: “This has culminated in facilitating the arrangements necessary to enable Mr Assange to leave the UK legally and safely.”
I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this