Julian Assange pleads responsible to conspiracy in US courtroom

Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded responsible Wednesday to a single felony cost of publishing U.S. army secrets and techniques, in a cope with the U.S. Justice Division that secures his freedom and ends a authorized saga that raised contentious questions on press freedom and nationwide safety.

The responsible plea got here within the morning on the federal courtroom in Saipan, capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory within the Pacific. He arrived on the courtroom shortly earlier than the listening to started, wearing a darkish swimsuit and free tie, and entered the constructing with out answering questions.

Whereas the plea deal requires him to confess guilt on a single cost, it would additionally permit him to return to his native Australia with out serving any time in a U.S. jail. Assange had been jailed within the U.Okay. for the previous 5 years, combating extradition to america on an Espionage Act cost that would have carried a prolonged jail sentence.

The deal permits each side to say some victory, because the Justice Division has been in a position to resolve with out trial a case that raised thorny authorized points and may by no means have reached a jury given the sluggish tempo of the extradition course of. In the meantime, Assange’s spouse, Stella, informed the BBC that she was “elated” by the information.

Wikileaks, the whistleblowing web site that Assange based in 2006, welcomed the announcement of the deal and stated it was grateful to “all those that stood by us, who fought for us and who remained totally dedicated to the battle for his freedom.”