Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has arrived back in Australia after being released from a U.S. court. His return was met with emotional embraces from his wife and father at the airport, where a small group of supporters cheered his arrival. This marks the end of a protracted legal battle that has spanned years.
Assange had pleaded guilty to a single charge in a court located in the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday. This plea was part of a deal that significantly reduced the number of charges he was facing from 18 to just one. The legal action against him by U.S. prosecutors was due to his publication of classified military information, which had raised concerns about a potential long prison sentence in a high-security U.S. facility.
This recent development follows years of Assange’s efforts to avoid extradition to the U.S. He had been in the United Kingdom, where he spent five years in prison fighting the extradition request from U.S. authorities. His departure from the UK took place on Monday, bringing an end to his lengthy incarceration there.
The agreement Assange reached with the U.S. authorities last week allowed him to plead guilty to a single charge, which significantly mitigated his legal jeopardy. Originally, he was facing 18 charges related to his role in publishing secret military documents. This reduction in charges was a crucial aspect of the deal that facilitated his release and return to Australia.
