WikiLeaks founder pleads guilty and is free to return to Australia after avoiding US imprisonment in plea deal

WikiLeaks founder pleads guilty and is free to return to Australia after avoiding US imprisonment in plea deal

Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, who was indicted on charges of leaking classified US government documents, pleaded guilty in a court on the US island of Saipan. He was subsequently released and will return to his native Australia.

According to Reuters and other sources, Assange left the UK, where he was being imprisoned, and appeared in court on the island of Saipan on the 26th.

Assange agreed to a plea deal with the Department of Justice to avoid prison in the United States in exchange for pleading guilty to leaking classified documents.

At today’s trial, he admitted his guilt while arguing that the Espionage Act, which was the basis for his indictment, is “inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution,” which guarantees freedom of speech.

The judge accepted the plea deal, freeing Assange from nearly 12 years of exile and imprisonment.

Assange is heading to his native Australia.

Source: Japanese