WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from a UK prison and is preparing to return to Australia after agreeing to plead guilty to a single espionage-related charge in the United States.
Assange, 52, will admit to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified US national defense information, according to court documents filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
On Monday, Assange was released from Belmarsh high-security prison and escorted to the airport, where he boarded a flight out of the UK. He is scheduled to appear in a Saipan court, a US Pacific territory, at 9am on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday), where he will be sentenced to 62 months, accounting for time already served.
“Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks announced on X (formerly Twitter).
The statement detailed Assange’s release from Belmarsh on the morning of June 24, following 1901 days of imprisonment. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and released at Stansted Airport, where he boarded a plane and left the UK.
A video posted by WikiLeaks showed Assange, dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, signing documents before boarding a private jet. After his hearing in Saipan, he will return to Australia, according to the WikiLeaks statement.
The plane transporting Assange made a refueling stop in Bangkok on Tuesday before continuing to the US territory.
Stella Assange, his wife, expressed her joy over the development. “He will be a free man once the judge signs off, which is expected to happen tomorrow,” she said from Australia.
