WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Pleads Guilty

BY: THE LEX TIMES

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty in a US court in Saipan on Wednesday as part of a plea bargain, which will lead to his release after enduring years of legal battles. The 52-year-old Assange confessed to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information during his appearance in the courtroom located in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US Pacific territory.

Assange’s statement of “Guilty to the information” was followed by a quip to the judge about his satisfaction being dependent on the hearing’s outcome. This plea marks a significant point in Assange’s lengthy legal saga, having been pursued by Washington for the 2010 release of hundreds of thousands of secret US documents via WikiLeaks. After being held for five years in a high-security British prison while contesting extradition to the US, Assange was released on Monday.

He is expected to be sentenced to five years and two months in prison on Wednesday, with credit for his time served in Britain. Assange’s wife, Stella, expressed her relief and gratitude to the supporters who campaigned for his release, telling BBC radio that she was “just elated” and that they were unsure of the outcome until the last 24 hours.

The proceedings took place in the Northern Mariana Islands due to Assange’s reluctance to enter the continental US and its geographical proximity to Australia, according to a court filing. Following the hearing, Assange is scheduled to fly to Canberra, Australia. WikiLeaks stated on social media platform X that the plea bargain “should never have had to happen.” The Australian government commented that the case had “dragged on for too long” and that continued incarceration would gain nothing.

Since 2010, Assange has been viewed by free speech campaigners as a hero and by his detractors as a security threat for endangering US intelligence sources. US authorities aimed to prosecute him for disclosing military secrets concerning the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, leading to a 2019 indictment by a US federal grand jury on 18 counts related to WikiLeaks’ publication of national security documents.

The United Nations welcomed Assange’s release, citing significant human rights concerns raised by the case. Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, expressed her relief over the conclusion of her son’s ordeal. However, former US Vice President Mike Pence condemned the plea deal on X, calling it a “miscarriage of justice” that dishonors the service of US Armed Forces members.

This plea deal comes just two weeks before Assange was to appear in a British court to appeal a ruling that approved his extradition to the US. Assange had been detained in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison since April 2019, following his arrest after seven years in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault accusations, which were later dropped.

The material released by Assange via WikiLeaks included a 2007 video showing civilians being killed by US helicopter fire in Iraq, which included a Reuters photographer and driver. Charged under the 1917 Espionage Act, Assange faced a potential 175-year prison sentence. Although the British government approved his extradition in June 2022, an appeal against the transfer was allowed in May by two British judges.

The plea deal was somewhat anticipated, as President Joe Biden faced mounting pressure to drop the case against Assange, with the Australian government officially requesting this in February. Biden’s indication that he would consider the request raised hopes among Assange’s supporters.

In the first official US response to the plea deal, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller refrained from commenting, as the case was about to go before a judge.