WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange officially released

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to a charge of "violating the Espionage Act" as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Assange's hearing was held at the U.S. District Court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory near the Asian coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Responding to questions from District Judge Ramona Manglona, Assange pleaded guilty to the charge of "violating the Espionage Act" in accordance with the agreement reached with the U.S.

Under the terms of the agreement, it was also decided that Assange would destroy all documents he provided to WikiLeaks. 

According to the deal, the WikiLeaks founder is expected to be sentenced to 62 months in prison, but will be allowed to return to Australia, taking into account the time he has already served in prison in the UK.

HE LEAKED THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS

WikiLeaks, founded by Julian Assange, published 251,000 classified documents on October 28, 2010, which also provided evidence of crimes committed by the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had taken refuge in June 2012, on April 11, 2019, and was arrested for "violating bail conditions" and placed in Belmarsh Prison in London.

The U.S. had requested Assange's extradition from the UK, and the UK High Court had demanded assurances from the U.S. that Assange would not face the death penalty and would receive a fair trial.

In a statement released last night, it was announced that as a result of the plea deal with the U.S. to admit to "violating the Espionage Act," Julian Assange would be allowed to leave the UK, where he had been detained for 5 years, to return to his home country of Australia.