Wikileaks founder arrived in Australia as a free man

Julian Assange has returned to his native Australia after a plea deal allowed him to be freed from prison in London.

There were emotional scenes at Canberra airport, as the Wikileaks founder kissed his wife and hugged his father, his lawyers watching and appearing very emotional.

“Julian needs time to recover, to get used to freedom,” Stella Assange said at a press conference shortly after her husband’s arrival.

For the past 14 years, Assange has been locked in a legal battle with US officials, who accused him of leaking classified documents, which they said could endanger lives.

The 52-year-old did not attend the press conference in Canberra, allowing his lawyer and wife to speak on his behalf.

“You have to understand what he went through,” Ms. Assange said, adding that they needed time “to let our family be a family.”

The couple married at Belmarsh prison in London in 2022 and have two children together.

The plea agreement saw Julian Assange plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, instead of the 18 counts he originally faced.

The case revolves around a major revelation by Wikileaks in 2010 when the website published a video from a US military helicopter showing civilians being killed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

It also released thousands of classified documents showing that the US military killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents during the war in Afghanistan.

These revelations became a major story, sparking reactions from every corner of the world and leading to intense scrutiny of America’s involvement in foreign conflicts.

Assange officially took up duty in the remote Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, two days after leaving Belmarsh prison.

In return, he was sentenced to time served and released to fly home.

His lawyer, Jen Robinson, told the media that the deal “criminalizes journalism” and sets a “dangerous precedent.”

Echoing this, Ms Assange said she hoped the media “realises the danger of the US case against Julian, the criminalization case, that has seen him convicted for newsgathering”. and publish truthful information that the public deserves to know.”

His lawyer also provided details of a phone call between Assange and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who played a key role in securing his release.

Assange told the prime minister he “saved his life”, Ms Robinson said, adding: “I don’t think that’s an exaggeration”.

“This is a huge victory for Australia to stand up to an ally and demand the return of an Australian citizen,” she said.

Mr Albanese held his own press conference on Wednesday, saying he was “very pleased” the case was over, adding that the Wikileaks founder had been through a “significant ordeal”.

Previously, the Prime Minister had said that he did not agree with everything Assange did, but “enough is enough” and it was time for him to be released, making the case a priority.

Asked if the plea agreement could affect US-Australia relations, he said: “We have a very positive relationship with the United States. I consider President Biden a friend, I consider Their relationship is completely central”.

The US State Department said its involvement in the Assange case was very limited. They added that the 52-year-old’s actions put the lives of America’s partners, allies and diplomats in danger, and that Wikileaks’s publications “chilled” the ability to build relationships. overseas relations of American diplomats.

Assange spent the last five years of his life in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison, fighting US efforts to extradite him to face charges over the leak.

In 2010, he faced separate charges of rape and sexual assault in Sweden, which he denied. He spent seven years hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, claiming that the incident in Sweden would result in him being sent to the US.

Swedish authorities dropped that case in 2019 and said it had been too long since the initial complaint.

Women’s rights groups in Sweden say it is unfortunate that he has never faced formal questioning over the rape allegation.

“It was a chapter of shame and betrayal that ended with his release,” Clara Berglund, head of the Swedish Women’s Advocacy Organization, told Reuters news agency.

“This is about a case that played out on major political stages and where men’s violence against women was taken very little seriously.”