Julian Assange is free.
They are words the media never thought would be printed, and yet footage of Assange boarding a plane emerged early this morning.
The High Court in London has granted the WikiLeaks publisher bail. Following the decision, Assange has immediately left the UK and is bound for Australia.
It comes as a result of a (yet unfinished) plea deal reached with the US Justice Department where Assange is set to plead guilty to a felony charge related to the Espionage Act. He will front the Federal Court in the Mariana Islands to enter the plea at a later date.
Assange left his former home of 1,901 days in the Belmarsh maximum security prison on June 24 where many view his stay as that of a political prisoner.
Coming back to X after a busy day and seeing Julian Assange is free might be the best news I could’ve imagined. His only crime was exposing a corrupt government pic.twitter.com/KdAOYXTIma
— ??Travis?? (@Travis_4_Trump) June 25, 2024
WikiLeaks has released the following statement on behalf of Assange:
Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stanstead airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.
This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible.
After more than five years in a 2×3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars.
WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people’s right to know.
As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.
Julian’s freedom is our freedom.
