Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, has pleaded guilty in a US court in Saipan as part of an agreement that should see him released from years of legal drama. The 52-year-old Australian pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information.
After spending five years in detention at the Belmarsh maximum security prison near London, Assange left the United Kingdom and returned home to Australia. He was tried by US authorities for having revealed hundreds of thousands of confidential documents, but could now be sentenced to only 62 months in prison. This is thanks to the preventive detention he served in London which will likely allow him to avoid any additional jail time.
The British government approved Assange’s extradition to the US in June 2022, but two British judges granted him the right to appeal the decision. Since then, requests have increased for US President Joe Biden to drop the charges against him. In February, Australia submitted a formal request on his behalf which the Democratic president said he was considering.