Assange gets released from UK prison following negotiated plea deal with US authorities
Date
6/30/2024 8:16:22 AM
(MENAFN) Julian Assange, the prominent journalist and founder of WikiLeaks, was released from a United Kingdom prison following a negotiated plea deal with United States authorities and President Joe Biden. Under this agreement, Assange admitted guilt to one charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defense information under the United States Espionage Act, with 17 other charges dropped, and subsequently received a pardon from President Biden.
Following his release from Belmarsh prison, Assange was swiftly transported by chartered jet to Saipan, a United States-administered Pacific island in the North Mariana Islands. There, he appeared before a United States District Court judge and formally entered his guilty plea. Assange, an Australian citizen, later returned to Australia, marking a temporary conclusion to a saga that began in October 2010.
In 2010, WikiLeaks published a trove of classified documents provided by Chelsea Manning, a former United States soldier. These documents exposed significant actions and policies of the United States government, including controversial military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of particular note was the "collateral murder" video, revealing the killing of unarmed civilians by United States forces, and revelations about United States surveillance of United Nations leaders, among other disclosures.
The publication of this classified material deeply embarrassed Washington and the United States military, prompting retaliatory measures. Allegations of sexual assault in Sweden were used to initiate legal proceedings against Assange, a move viewed by many as politically motivated to facilitate his extradition to the United States.
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