Julian Assange, free after pleading guilty, set to return to Australia

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arriving at the U.S. court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, on Wednesday morning ahead of his plea deal hearing. SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — Julian Assange, the founder of the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of violating the Espionage Act in a U.S. federal court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean, bringing an end to a years-long legal saga that spanned five countries.

Under questioning from the judge, Assange said he believed that as a journalist, his work should be protected by the First Amendment. He added that he considered the First Amendment and the Espionage Act contradictory to each other, prompting some interrogation by the judge and clarification from Assange’s attorney that his client was pleading guilty.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday that it was long past time that Assange was allowed to return home. “Regardless of the views that people have about Mr. Assange’s activities, the case has dragged on for too long,” Albanese said in the Australian parliament. “There is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.”and Assange became internationally famous after leaks about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was not the leaks but allegations of sexual assault that led to arrest warrants against Assange. In November 2010, Swedish authorities issued an international arrest warrant for him in connection with allegations of sexual assault lodged against him by two women. Assange denied the allegations, saying they were a pretext for him to be extradited to the United States because of his work on WikiLeaks.

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