Summary of the day so far
Julian Assange is on a plane departing from Bangkok, Thailand en route to the island Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. The WikiLeaks founder was earlier released from Belmarsh prison in London on Monday.
Assange, 52, is scheduled to be sentenced in a US district court in Saipan at 9am local time on Wednesday (11pm GMT on Tuesday).
He is expected to accept a charge under the US Espionage Act in front of a US federal judge. Under the deal, which must be approved by a judge, Assange is likely to be credited for the five years he has already served and face no new jail time.
Experts have warned that the plea deal struck between the WikiLeaks founder and the US authorities could set a dangerous precedent. Many press freedom advocates have argued that criminally charging Assange represents a threat to free speech.
There was a mixed reaction to the news of the plea deal across the US political spectrum. James Clapper, director of US national intelligence in 2010 when Assange and his WikiLeaks organization published secret US intelligence documents with a consortium of newspaper, said Assange had “paid his dues”. Former US vice-president Mike Pence, however, described Assange’s plea deal as “a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and their families”.
WikiLeaks said Assange had left Belmarsh prison on Monday morning, after 1,901 days of captivity there. He had spent the time, the organisation said, “in a 2x3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day”.
Assange was set to be reunited with his wife, Stella, and their two children. Stella Assange, a human rights lawyer, spoke of her elation that he has been released and will soon be a “free man”. She said she had not yet informed their two boys, aged five and seven, of the plans for fear of the information leaking.
Experts warn Assange plea deal could set dangerous precedent
The next UK government must push the US for reassurance it will not pursue journalists for publishing classified information, human rights organisations and experts have argued after the release of Julian Assange.
Experts have warned that the plea deal struck between the WikiLeaks founder and the US authorities – which will see him plead guilty to one charge under the Espionage Act, but avoid serving any additional time in custody – could set a dangerous precedent.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called his release a “significant victory for media freedom” with its general secretary, Anthony Bellanger, adding:
Had Assange gone to prison for the rest of his life, any reporter handed a classified document would fear facing a similar fate.
But Seth Stern, director of advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF), said it was “alarming” the plea had been pursued. He said:
The plea deal won’t have the precedential effect of a court ruling, but it will still hang over the heads of national security reporters for years to come.
It was a sentiment echoed by Stella Assange, who said her husband would seek a pardon after accepting the charge. She told Reuters:
The fact that there is a guilty plea, under the Espionage Act in relation to obtaining and disclosing National Defence information is obviously a very serious concern for journalists and national security journalists in general.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomed the release of Julian Assange while also warning of the “harmful” legal precedent set by the US government’s pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder under the Espionage Act.
In a statement, the CPJ said the move opens the way for journalists to be tried under the Espionage Act if they receive classified material from whistleblowers, adding: “This should never have been the case.”
Updated
Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian’s editor-in-chief from 1995 to 2015, who earlier described Julian Assange’s release as “good news”, said in a statement to Reuters:
I’m sorry that it’s taken a plea on a charge of espionage because I don’t think actually anybody thinks that what he was doing was espionage… I think if the attempt was to chill national security reporting, I fear it’s probably worked.
Writing in Prospect magazine, of which he is now editor, Rusbridger said the legal battle over Assange had become “something of an embarrassment”.
“That Assange is free is, in my view, very good news,” Rusbridger writes.
The downside is that he won that freedom by having to admit one offence under the 1917 US Espionage Act. Whatever Assange was, he was not a spy. Publisher, journalist, activist, information anarchist, whistleblower, impresario – he is all those things. But no one, not even the US government, seriously alleged that whatever he did in 2010/11 amounted to espionage.
The former Guardian editor warns that using the “blunt instrument” of the Espionage Act sets off alarm bells for journalists.
His treatment – along with more draconian laws in countries such as the UK and Australia – will undoubtedly have a chilling effect on genuine and legitimate reporting on national security issues. A result for government and the secret state. For the rest of us, not so much.
Updated
The press freedom group PEN America has welcomed the resolution of the Julian Assange case.
In a statement, the group said the US government’s pursuit of charges against the WikiLeaks founder has “posed an alarming threat to press freedom in the United States and globally, sending a chilling message to journalists and risking emboldening authoritarian governments”.
Congress should seize this opportunity to immediately reform the Espionage Act to include an exception for information disclosures that advance the public interest. This move would send a strong signal in defense of press freedom, strengthening protections for journalists in the United States and reducing the risk of the law being wielded for political purposes in the future.
Updated
Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, earlier celebrated the release of Julian Assange in a post on X writing that “at least in this case, the Statue of Liberty did not remain an empty symbol”.
Celebro la salida de Julian Assange de la cárcel. Cuando menos en este caso, la Estatua de la Libertad no quedó como un símbolo vacío; está viva y contenta como millones en el mundo.
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) June 25, 2024
López Obrador has previously defended Assange’s innocence and offered asylum to the WikiLeaks founder.
Assange “did not commit any serious crime, did not cause anyone’s death, did not violate any human rights and that he exercised his freedom”, he told reporters in 2022. He has also called Assange “the best journalist of our time”.
Here are some images from the newswires showing a plane carrying Julian Assange leaving Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, en route to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Gabriel Shipton, who is Julian Assange’s brother, has said he is “overjoyed” at his brother’s release and that the situation has been “surreal and overwhelming”.
Shipton, in an interview with Democracy Now, said he, their father John Shipton, and Stella Assange are all looking forward to meeting him on the tarmac once he arrives in Australia.
Shipton acknowledged the many years of advocacy at many levels across governments that led to today, noting that “the real pressure [came] from the Australian people that led the government to be able to advocate so strongly for Julian Assange”.
Assange departs Bangkok en route to Saipan
A plane carrying Julian Assange has departed Bangkok en route to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific after refuelling.
The WikiLeaks founder is due to be sentenced at a hearing on the island of Saipan on Wednesday.
A plane carrying Julian Assange is due to take off shortly from Bangkok to the Northern Mariana Islands, his official campaign said.
Julian's flight will be taking off shortly. We must keep a close eye on this as he will be entering the US overseas territory of the Mariana Islands
— Free Assange - #FreeAssange (@FreeAssangeNews) June 25, 2024
Track here: https://t.co/KvnnrtTBUf#AssangeJet
Summary of the day so far …
Julian Assange, having been released from Belmarsh prison in London on Monday, is in Bangkok, en route to Saipan where he is expected to accept a charge under the US Espionage Act in front of a US federal judge.
The 52-year-0ld WikiLeaks founder will plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to filings in the island’s district court. Under the deal, he will be free to leave the court due to time already served and to travel on to Australia to be reunited with his family.
Speaking from Australia, where she flew on Sunday to prepare her family’s new life, his wife, Stella Assange, a human rights lawyer, said she had not yet told the couple’s two young sons about their father’s release from incarceration. She said: “All I told them was that there was a big surprise. We’ve been very careful, because obviously, no one can stop a five- and a seven-year-old from, you know, shouting it from the rooftops at any given moment. Because of the sensitivity around the judge having to sign off the deal, we’ve been very careful, just gradually, incrementally telling them information”.
Assange was arrested in the embassy in 2019 when Ecuador withdrew his asylum and allowed UK police to enter the building. He had been holed up in the embassy in Knightsbridge, avoiding extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations that Assange has always denied and which have since been dropped.
Stella Assange has launched a fundraising appeal to cover the cost of the flight to take Assange from the UK to Australia, via Thailand and Saipan. She posted to social media to say that “he was not permitted to fly commercial airlines or routes to Saipan and onward to Australia”.
Assange’s flight to Saipan is expected to take off a little after 4pm GMT, and it is believed he will appear in court at 9am local time on Wednesday morning, which is 11pm GMT on Tuesday.
Updated
Former vice-president Mike Pence described Julian Assange’s plea deal as “a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and their families”.
“Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Pence said, adding: “There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the US. Ever”
In 2016, WikiLeaks published emails from Democratic party operatives in the lead up to the US presidential election. US prosecutors said the emails were stolen by Russian intelligence and formed part of an operation to interfere in the election on behalf of Donald Trump. Pence was Trump’s vice-president when, in 2017, the then US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, said Assange’s arrest was a priority for the US.
Updated
Gabriel Shipton, who is Julian Assange’s brother, has said “The Australian government has played a significant role in these last moments. They have played an integral role securing his release and getting him on that plane. But they couldn’t have done that without the support of the Australian people. We are very thankful for the Australian people and everyone around the world who has been advocating for Julian.”
This is another handout screengrab showing Julian Assange in Bangkok.
Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has reacted to the release of Julian Assange. Reuters reports he said:
Today the world is a little better and less unfair. Julian Assange is free after 1,901 days in prison. His release and return home, albeit belatedly, represent a victory for democracy and the fight for press freedom.
Film-maker Michael Moore, who put up a $20,0000 bond in 2010 for Assange’s release on bail, said this was a “happy day”.
Moore said of Assange: “the good people of this world will never forget your sacrifice”, adding “Although 14 years of his life were stolen from him by a government of, yes, war criminals, they were never able to lay a hand on him”.
“Hopefully, someday, this country of ours will apologise to him for this torture. In the meantime, let us all draw from him the kind of courage that is needed during our darkest times of aggression and the funding of foreign slaughter with our tax dollars,” Moore added.
“It is also my hope that we will sometime soon return to having a vital and vibrant press that exists to uncover the lies and protect us, the citizens, from those who would seek to end our democracy”.
In launching a fundraising appeal to cover Julian Assange’s travel costs from the UK to Australia via Thailand and Saipan, his wife Stella Assange has revealed “he was not permitted to fly commercial airlines or routes to Saipan and onward to Australia.”
Pictured: Assange arrives in Thailand
Julian Assange has been photographed arriving by plane in Bangkok
Julian Assange has “paid his dues” and “justice has been served”, according to James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence when the trove of classified documents was released in 2010.
In an interview with CNN, Clapper said it was crucial that Assange will plead guilty to violating US espionage law.
“Critical to this was his plea of one count of espionage,” said Clapper. “I think the law enforcement community and the intelligence community wouldn’t have bought into this without that. He’s served, essentially, seven years of incarceration in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He was released from that and then the Brits arrested him and he did 62 months in jail of hard time in London. So he’s sort of paid his dues.”
Clapper pointed out that Assange’s actions “could have put at risk people or compromised sources or methods”. But he said that a damage assessment at the time did not reveal any direct proof that assets in Afghanistan or Iraq who were helping the United States were exposed.
He added: “You can’t have a system where people, on their own, decide it’s ok to expose all this classified information. That’s an important principle to bear in mind here. But I think justice has been served.”
Updated
Assange release a 'significant victory for media freedom', say journalism bodies
The International Federation of Journalists has described Julian Assange’s release from prison as a “significant victory for media freedom.”
“The dropping of 17 of the 18 charges that he faced avoids the criminalisation of the normal journalistic practices of encouraging sources to confidentially share evidence of wrongdoing and criminality,” read an IFS statement reported by PA Media, which also offered a reminder that more than 500 journalists remain in prison around the world.
The federation’s president Dominique Pradalie said the development meant “victory for the right to inform and to be informed” and “victory for journalists around the world.”
Its general secretary Anthony Bellanger added: “The attempted prosecution of Julian Assange cast a dark shadow over journalists, particularly those who cover national security issues. Had Assange gone to prison for the rest of his life, any reporter handed a classified document would fear facing a similar fate.”
The National Union of Journalists’ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “The targeting and persecution of journalists in this way is one that underscores the need to defend journalism and the methods used daily, including when cultivating a source.
“Collectively, we must do all that is necessary to protect press freedom and continue to resist efforts threatening the safety of journalists. As the NUJ continues to monitor developments, I hope this juncture leads to a more concrete end to the nightmare experienced by Assange.”
Both of Julian Assange’s parents have spoken to the media today about the impending release of their son.
Assange’s father John Shipton told PA Media he felt “elated” at hearing the news of his son’s dramatic journey from the UK and that his release had “lifted a huge burden” from his family.
He said recent court hearings in the UK had given him hope that the “tide was turning” in his son’s favour, as well as increasing pressure from the Australian government.
Speaking from Australia, he said he hoped his son will spend time “walking along beaches and listening to birds” in the next few weeks and months.
Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, told Australia’s Sky News that she is “grateful” her son’s ordeal is “finally coming to an end”.
She said: “This shows the importance and power of quiet diplomacy. Many have used my son’s situation to push their own agenda, so I am grateful to those unseen, hardworking people who put Julian’s welfare first.
“The past 14 years have obviously taken a toll on me as a mother, so I wish to thank you in advance for respecting my privacy.”
William Booth, writing for the Washington Post, says that “Julian Assange may be about to win, while also having lost”. He writes:
His story of hacking and leaking, flight and imprisonment, courtroom theatrics and now possibly imminent release is inspiring, chilling, depressing – depending on how you view Assange.
The case raised, but never definitively answered, vital questions about what it means to be a journalist, a publisher and a whistleblower.
Was he a non-state actor threatening the national security of the US, as CIA director Mike Pompeo once alleged? Or a hero, as his many supporters believed.
Assange’s defenders have for years argued that his first amendment rights – to publish leaked, embarrassing, newsworthy information about U.S. conduct in overseas wars – were under assault.
Booth, citing Assange’s apparent fragile health in recent appearances, said “he has paid a high price. In his last appearances in a London courtroom, appearing behind a glass wall, he was a physically diminished man. He looked unwell, and he barely spoke.”
Speaking to the media earlier today, Assange’s wife, Stella Assange that his health would be a priority, and that after years in detention he would need time and privacy.
Julian Assange’s court appearance before a US federal judge is expected to take place at 9am local time Wednesday morning (11pm GMT Tuesday night) at the US District Court in Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth of the US, consisting of 14 islands. The territory was captured from Japan during the second world war, and was administrated by the US in the immediate aftermath of the conflict.
Haroon Siddique is the Guardian’s legal affairs correspondent
The prosecuting authority in England and Wales, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), has released this statement in addition to quotes from senior figures in the organisation:
Mr Assange’s proposed plea agreement to settle his extradition case entered the public domain in March this year. Thereafter, the CPS advised the US on how to bring the proposed agreement to fruition which required Mr Assange to appear in person before a US federal judge. The CPS has also worked closely with the National Crime Agency to help put in place the necessary practical arrangements to enable Mr Assange to leave the jurisdiction safely, and in accordance with his wishes and those of the US government.
Crown Prosecution Service says Julian Assange had private bail hearing in UK last Thursday
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of England and Wales said a bail hearing for Julian Assange was held in private last Thursday.
PA Media quotes Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, saying:
Thirteen-and-a-half years and two extradition requests after he was first arrested, Julian Assange left the UK yesterday, following a bail hearing last Thursday, held in private at his request.
I am proud of the way our extradition unit has dealt with this case. They have acted with expertise and skill, under international scrutiny, to provide legal advice to both the Swedish and US authorities.
This case has absorbed considerable time and resource from the criminal justice system over many years. The intended outcome of the plea agreement will be to accomplish the primary objective of delivering justice. It will also save the continuing substantial resource outlay involved in litigating this matter further in England.
The CPS prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales, and is set up to be a body independent of the police and government. It decides which cases should be prosecuted in England and Wales, and prepares the charges and presents them in court.
John Sheehan, head of extradition at the CPS, said:
This has been a highly complex matter involving advising and representing the Swedish and US authorities. In this period, the CPS’s extradition unit has faced and dealt with novel and challenging legal issues. Mr Assange has also utilised all the legal protections available to him. This has culminated in facilitating the arrangements necessary to enable Mr Assange to leave the UK legally and safely.
Here is an updated report from my colleague Daniel Hurst in Canberra, taking in the latest political reaction to Julian Assange’s release.
Stella Assange has posted to social media to say that her husband, Julian Assange, will “soon take off again and fly into US airspace where he will appear before a US judge”.
She said “Please follow #AssangeJet, we need all eyes on his flight in case something goes wrong.”
Julian Assange’s flight VJ199 landed in Bangkok and will soon take off again and fly into US airspace where he will appear before a US judge. Please follow #AssangeJet, we need all eyes on his flight in case something goes wrong.https://t.co/N56dysEr0h https://t.co/Uvnmz9f1BI
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) June 25, 2024
The official WikiLeaks account has also posted a new picture of Julian Assange on the plane en route to Bangkok.
This is a view of Assange’s plane during its stopover in Thailand.
Stella Assange: Julian Assange will seek a pardon after accepting charge under Espionage Act
Julian Assange’s wife has said that her husband will seek a pardon from the US presidency after making a deal to accept a charge under the US Espionage Act. The WikiLeaks founder is currently en route to Australia after being released from prison the UK.
Assange is reportedly travelling to a hearing on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where he will be sentenced at 9am local time on Wednesday (11pm GMT on Tuesday).
“The fact that there is a guilty plea, under the Espionage Act in relation to obtaining and disclosing National Defence information is obviously a very serious concern for journalists and national security journalists in general,” she told Reuters.
She told the agency it had been “a rough few years” and that she would not really believe he was free until they were reunited. She said she was still worried something would go wrong. Stella Assange, a lawyer who has worked on his campaign for release for many years, said:
I feel elated. I also feel worried, you know, because I’m so used to this. Anything could happen. I’m worried that until it’s fully signed off, I worry, but it looks like we’ve got there. I’ll really believe it when I have him in front of me and I can take him and hug him and then it will be real you know?
She confirmed that they intend to launch a fundraising campaign, after chartering a flight to take him from the UK to Australia via Thailand and the Northern Mariana Islands had cost $500,000 (£393k / $750k AUD). She told Reuters:
It’s Australian policy that he will have to pay his own return flight so he’s had to charter a flight and so he will basically be in debt when he lands in Canberra. We’re going to launch an emergency fund to try to get this money so that we can pay the Australian government back for his freedom flight.
The couple have two children, who are in Australia with her, but are yet to be told that their father has been released. “All I told them was that there was a big surprise,” she told the BBC earlier, saying the details of Assange’s release needed to be kept under wraps while they were travelling to Australia, and “obviously no one can stop a five and a seven-year-old from, you know, shouting it from the rooftops at any given moment.”
The plea agreement comes months after the US president, Joe Biden, said he was considering a request from Australia to drop the US push to prosecute Assange. Assange was indicted during the former president Donald Trump’s administration over the release of hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many press freedom advocates have argued that criminally charging Assange represents a threat to free speech.
Stella Assange: Julian Assange will launch fundraising campaign to pay for flight from UK
Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange has also spoken to PA Media from Australia. She told the news agency that Assange had paid $500,000 (£393k / $750k AUD) to charter a flight from Stansted, and he is being accompanied by a WikiLeaks lawyer, a representative of the Australian government and a medic to check on his health.
She said:
It is hard to believe that Julian has been in prison for so long. It had become normalised. I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this. Overall I am elated but I cannot believe it is actually happening until I see Julian. The public climate has shifted and everyone understands that Julian has been the victim. Things are still very sensitive. Julian is paying for the flight so we will launch a fundraising campaign.
Earlier former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said he did not think that Julian Assange would get a “hero’s welcome” when he arrived in Australia. These demonstrators outside the British Consulate in Melbourne have clearly taken a different view.
The editor of WikiLeaks, Kristinn Hrafnsson, has spoken to PA Media. He told the news agency:
This is the result of a long, long process which has been going on for some time. It has been a tough battle, but the focus now is on Julian being reunited with his family. The most important thing is that Julian is free and he is finally able to enjoy the big blue sky. Details of what will happen now will come out in the next 24 hours. His family will be waiting for him in Australia.
Stella Assange: it has been 'a whirlwind of emotions' as Julian Assange and US DoJ strike release deal
Stella Assange has said that the deal between US authorities that has led to the release of Julian Assange will be made public, but that details cannot be released until it is signed by a judge.
Assange is at the moment on a stopover in Bangkok, and is reportedly travelling to a hearing on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where he will be sentenced at 9am local time on Wednesday (11pm GMT on Tuesday).
Stella Assange told listeners of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme in the UK that “there is an agreement in principle between Julian and the Department of Justice. And that has to be signed off by a judge”. She said she was limited in what she could say until that happens.
She confirmed he would plead guilty to one charge “concerning the Espionage Act and obtaining and disclosing National Defence information”. Asked if it was difficult for her husband to accept the charge, she said “I don’t want to say too much until it has been signed off by a judge. But the important thing here is that the deal involves time served, and that if he signed it, he would be able to walk free.”
She said that the deal had come as a direct result of Assange being granted leave to mount a fresh appeal against his extradition to the US at the high court in London in May.
Stella Assange described the last few days as “a whirlwind of emotions” and said she was “just elated”. She said that the couple’s two young children are in Australia with her, but have not yet been told that their father is to be freed.
She said “he has been in Belmarsh prison for over five years in relation to this outrageous case, which is criminalising the publication and disclosure of information that incriminates states.”
She told listeners that the family have not yet had a chance to discuss plans for the future, saying the priority was “for Julian to get healthy again”. She said “he’s been in a terrible state for five years” and that they wanted “time and privacy” for them to be able to start a new chapter of their lives with their children.
“It’s always been quite extraordinary,” Stella Assange said. “But I’m just so emotional now. You know, this is finally over.”
Stella Assange: Julian Assange's children not yet told their father will be free
Julian Assange’s wife has said that the couple’s two children are in Australia with her, waiting for their father to arrive, but have not yet been told that he is to be freed. She told listeners of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that all they have been told is that there is a “big surprise” waiting for them in Australia.
Saying that arrangements for Assange’s release had been “touch and go” over the last 72 hours, she said that she and the two children had packed with barely any notice to head to Australia, flying on Sunday.
She said:
All I told them was that there was a big surprise on the morning that we left. I told them we were heading to the airport. And we got on the plane and I told them that we were going to visit our family, their cousin, their grandfather and so on.
And they still don’t know. We’ve been very careful because obviously no one can stop a five and a seven-year-old from, you know, shouting it from the rooftops at any given moment. And because of the sensitivity around the judge having to sign off the deal we’ve been very careful, just gradually, incrementally telling them information. They are very excited to be in Australia though.
Assange’s children have never seen him outside the confines of Belmarsh prison, she said. She confirmed that they would be told before they met up with their dad.
Stella Assange has said that the priority is for Julian Assange to “get healthy again”, to be in touch with nature and to have “time and privacy”. She said they have not had time to discuss any plans for the future.
More details soon …
Stella Assange has said that the deal made between US authorities and Julian Assange will be made public. She has described it as “a very interesting deal” and said “I can’t really talk about it in detail. I certainly have views about the deal, but I don’t want to jeopardise anything.”
Stella Assange: release of Julian Assange had been 'touch and go'
Stella Assange has told listeners to the BBC in the UK that the release of her husband Julian Assange had been “touch and go” over the last couple of days, and that she is limited in what she can say until the “agreement in principle” has been signed off by a judge.
More details soon …
The former minister for foreign affairs of Australia, Alexander Downer, has said he does not think that Julian Assange will receive a hero’s welcome when he reaches Australia. He told listeners of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme in the UK that Assange had done something morally “terrible”. He said:
He has pleaded guilty. That is part of the plea bargain. So what he did was a criminal offence, and it was a terrible thing to do, morally as well, endangering people’s lives in that way. It is just completely inappropriate and I don’t think many Australians have sympathy for it.
Assange’s wife, Stella, is due to give an interview on the radio in the UK shortly. We will bring you the key lines that emerge.
Stella Assange has posted to social media a picture of a phone with the Sydney Opera House in the background, saying it showed “Julian calling into Sydney from Stansted airport last night (his daytime)”
Julian calling into Sydney from Stansted airport last night (his day time).#AssangeJet #AssangeFree pic.twitter.com/KIz3cZp498
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) June 25, 2024
Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian from 1995 to 2015, has commented on Julian Assange’s release, posting to social media:
Good news that Assange is apparently free. Enough was enough. But his treatment was a warning to journalists and whistleblowers to keep quiet in future. And I suspect it will have worked.
Good news that Assange is apparently free. Enough was enough. But his treatment was a warning to journalists and whistleblowers to keep quiet in future. And I suspect it will have worked.
— alan rusbridger (@arusbridger) June 25, 2024
What we know so far
It’s just after 1pm in Bangkok, where a plane thought to be carrying Julian Assange has landed, en route to a plea deal hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from a British prison and is expected to plead guilty to violating US espionage law, in a deal that would allow him to return home to his native Australia. Assange agreed to plead guilty to a single charge, according to filings in the US district court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
WikiLeaks posted on social media a video of its founder boarding a flight at London’s Stansted airport on Monday evening. The organisation said that Assange left Belmarsh prison on Monday morning. He is expected to be on his way to Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Assange had left the UK, adding that the case had “dragged on for too long”. According to Albanese, Assange is being accompanied by Australia’s high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith.
Assange was set to be reunited with his wife, Stella, who confirmed on X that he was free. She thanked Assange’s supporters, saying “words cannot express our immense gratitude”. Assange’s mother Christine welcomed the developments, saying “I am grateful my son’s ordeal is finally coming to an end.”
Under the deal, which must be approved by a judge, Assange is likely to be credited for the five years he has already served and face no new jail time. In a letter to a federal judge in the district court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a senior justice department official said that he was being sent to Saipan because of its “proximity to the defendant’s country of citizenship”.
Some experts warned that a conviction for Assange, even on a single count, could have a devastating and prolonged impact on investigative and national security journalism. Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University warned that the outcome could “cast a long shadow over the most important kinds of journalism, not just in this country but around the world”.
Former US vice-president Mike Pence slammed the plea deal on Twitter as a “miscarriage of justice” that “dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces.”
Updated
Australia’s former deputy prime minister has cautiously welcomed news that Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the US justice department that will allow him to walk free.
Barnaby Joyce was part of an Australian delegation that travelled to the US earlier this year to lobby lawmakers over Assange’s case.
Plane thought to be carrying Assange lands in Thailand
The plane thought to be carrying Assange, on his way to enter a plea deal in a US court in the Northern Mariana Islands, has just landed in Bangkok, according to online tracker FlightRadar.
The chartered plane landed after noon at Don Mueang International Airport, north of the Thai capital. It is unclear if the plane is only refuelling or how Assange will continue traveling to the Northern Mariana Islands.
Updated
Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong has delivered a statement on the release of Julian Assange today, and spoke about the advocacy of the current government to secure the release of the Wikileaks founder.
The prime minister and I have been very clear - Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long.
Over the last two years, the Albanese government has advocated for him to come home. That advocacy has been led by the prime minister and the prime minister has been very clear about the priority here he ... gives to the Assange case ...
The prime minister has led these efforts and has personally raised this - Mr Assange’s case - at the most senior levels, including with [US] president [Joe] Biden and [UK] prime minister [Rishi] Sunak ... I know that there are many around the world and in Australia who have passionately advocated for Mr Assange ... we have consistently stated that there is nothing to be served by the ongoing incarceration of Mr Julian Assange.
My colleague Jonathan Yerushalmy has written this very helpful explainer to catch you up on the Assange saga. Including this:
Why has he been released?
For the past five years, Assange has been imprisoned in a high-security prison in south London where he has been denied bail on the grounds that he is deemed to be a flight risk. Throughout this time, his family and supporters say his physical and mental health has been declining.
In 2021, a UK court said that Assange could be extradited to the US, but earlier this year he won the right to appeal that verdict.
In February, the Australian parliament passed a motion that called on the US and UK governments to allow Assange to return to his native country. Then in April, the US president, Joe Biden, said he was considering a request from Australia to drop the prosecution against Assange.
Although its unclear why he has been released now, Assange’s family – including his mother – said on Tuesday that the end of his “ordeal” was down to “quiet diplomacy”, while his father thanked the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
What’s in the deal?
Assange is scheduled to appear in a federal court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the western Pacific, where he is expected to plead guilty to one charge under the Espionage Act of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information. The extradition request is expected to be dropped and Assange won’t face any other charges.
The hearing is taking place in the Northern Mariana Islands because of Assange’s opposition to travelling to the US mainland and the court’s proximity to Australia.
Prosecutors have agreed to a sentence of five years, but have said the time already served in a British prison will count towards this. This means that he will probably walk free after the sentencing.
The guilty plea must still be approved by a judge, but if it is, he is expected to return to Australia after the sentencing.
John Shipton, Assange’s father, told Australian media on Tuesday that it appears “Julian will be able to enjoy an ordinary life with his family and his wife, Stella”.
Read the full explainer here:
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'We want him brought home to Australia', says Albanese
Hi, this is Kate Lyons, I’m taking over the blog for the next while.
The Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has been asked a question about Assange in parliament and whether today’s developments meant he was “finally coming home”.
Albanese and his cabinet supported a parliamentary motion put forward by independent MP Andrew Wilkie earlier this year, urging the UK and US to allow Assange to return home to Australia.
He said today in parliament:
The government is certainly aware that Julian Assange has legal proceedings scheduled in the US... Given these proceedings are ongoing it is not appropriate to provide further details comment. I will say the Australian Government has continued to provide consular assistance to Julian Assange through the UK high commissioner, Stephen Smith, who travelled with Julian Assange when he left the UK, and US Ambassador Kevin Rudd who is also providing important assistance.
I have been a very clear as both the Labor leader and opposition but also as prime minister that regardless of the views that people have about Julian Assange and his activities, the case has dragged on for too long, there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.
We have engaged and advocated Australia’s interest using all appropriate channels to support a positive outcome and I have done that since very early on in my prime ministership.
I will have more to say when these legal proceedings have concluded, which I hope will be very soon and I will report as appropriate at that time.
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Full video statements from Stella Assange and Wikileaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson here:
The private charter flight carrying Assange will stop in Bangkok to refuel before carrying on to Saipan, a Thai official has told AFP.
Assange’s plane left London on Monday evening, local time, and is expected to reach Bangkok within a few hours from now. A flight matching some known elements of his travel is currently one of the top five most tracked flights on flightradar, but the Guardian has not confirmed it is the plane carrying Assange.
The Thai official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the plane will land shortly before midday Tuesday (0450 GMT) to refuel, and will depart about nine hours later (1400 GMT).
It’s a journey of about six hours to Saipan, according to online flight maps. Assange is scheduled to appear in court at 9am Wednesday local time (2300 Tuesday GMT).
A full report here on the relief and other reactions of Assange’s family, by Guardian Australia’s foreign affairs correspondent, Daniel Hurst.
Julian Assange’s mother says she is grateful her son’s “ordeal is finally coming to an end” after the Australian citizen was released from jail in the UK to seal a US plea deal. Assange’s father described the breakthrough as “wonderful” and “energising”.
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Assange’s release has not been welcomed by all.
The former US vice president, Mike Pence, has called the apparent plea deal a “miscarriage of justice” which “dishonours” US troops. His full statement, posted on X a short time ago:
Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration’s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families. There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.”
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Hello, this is Helen Davidson taking over from Helen Sullivan for the next few hours.
Assange’s release is a victory for him and his many supporters around the world, but not necessarily a clear win for the principle underlying his defence, the freedom of the press, writes Julian Borger, the Guardian’s world affairs editor.
US prosecutors argued that Assange was not a proper journalist, but a hacker and an activist with his own agenda, who endangered the lives of US sources and contacts, so the Espionage Act could be applied without harming press freedom.
But press and civil liberties advocates took the view that it was irrelevant how Assange was defined. The things he was accused of doing, “obtaining and disseminating classified information”, are what national security journalists do for a living.
The revelations WikiLeaks published about the Iraq and Afghan wars in 2010, leaked to the organisation by an army intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning, brought to light possible human rights abuses by the US military in those wars, among other things. They were published by the Guardian and other news organisations on the grounds there was a strong public interest in those secrets being brought to light.
You can read Julian’s full analysis here:
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Longtime supporter of Assange, former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, said Assange’s family is “elated” at his release, telling Sky News: “It’s been very taxing. It’s no secret, being so many years in a maximum security jail.
“Why on earth somebody who is a journalist, who never harmed anybody in his life, is locked up in a jail with the worst terrorists in the UK ... it’s very difficult for anybody to justify.”
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan. My colleague Helen Davidson will take you through the latest developments.
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Here is a timeline of Assange’s long case – and how he went from being questioned in Sweden to living for years in Ecuador’s embassy in London and in Belmarsh maximum security prison in the UK:
Asked if it would be hard for his son to accept a plea deal, Assange’s father, John Shipton said: “I imagine that spending 15 years in one form or another of incarceration, finally ending up in five years in maximum security prison, is a difficult thing - more than difficult actually.”
That included the years Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London from 2012 to 2019, before his diplomatic status was revoked and he was arrested. He was subsequently held in Belmarsh prison in London.
There had been growing consensus within the Australian parliament, across party political lines, that it was time to find a way to secure Assange’s return to Australia.
Albanese, before he became prime minister, suggested that there was nothing to be served by Assange’s continued incarceration – a position that became the official Australian government stance when Labor defeated the Coalition in 2022.
Albanese has said he raised the matter directly with the US, including with the president, Joe Biden, during his visit to Washington in October 2023.
In February this year, Albanese and cabinet members supported a motion put forward by independent MP Andrew Wilkie urging the UK and US to allow Assange to return home to Australia.
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said he also raised the matter with his US counterpart, Merrick Garland, during a meeting in January this year.
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Julian Assange should not be judged poorly “for accepting a deal to get the hell out of there and come home” in light of his poor health, an Australian MP has said.
Australian politicians have reacted cautiously to reports of a plea deal to end the US pursuit of Assange in connection with the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as well as diplomatic cables.
The Australian Labor MP Julian Hill said: “No one should judge Julian for accepting a deal to get the hell out of there and come home. His health is fragile.”
Hill said he hoped “for the best now” and credited the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, with pursuing the matter relentlessly.
“Whatever you think of Assange he is an Australian and enough is enough,” Hill said.
“The prime minister [Anthony Albanese] deserves enormous personal credit for his judgment and determination, never giving up in pursuing resolution of this case.”
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Watch: Assange departs the UK
Here is the video released by WikiLeaks showing Assange boarding a plane after being granted bail and released from Belmarsh maximum security prison:
The plea agreement comes months after the US president, Joe Biden, said he was considering a request from Australia to drop the US push to prosecute Assange.
Assange was indicted during the former president Donald Trump’s administration over WikiLeaks’ mass release of secret US documents, which were leaked by Chelsea Manning, a former US military intelligence analyst who was also prosecuted under the Espionage Act.
The trove of more than 700,000 documents included diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts such as a 2007 video of a US Apache helicopter firing at suspected insurgents in Iraq, killing a dozen people including two Reuters news staff. That video was released in 2010.
The charges against Assange sparked outrage among his many global supporters who have long argued that Assange as the publisher of WikiLeaks should not face charges typically used against federal government employees who steal or leak information.
Many press freedom advocates have argued that criminally charging Assange represents a threat to free speech.
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Who is Julian Assange?
Assange was born in 1971 in Townsville, in the Australian state of Queensland. He became interested in computers at a young age and by the early nineties, he was considered one of Australia’s most accomplished hackers.
In 2006 he founded Wikileaks, an the organisation that published leaked material. It wasn’t until 2010 that Assange reached global prominence, after publishing a series of leaks by Chelsea Manning, a former US Army soldier. Among the files was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.
The US government launched a criminal investigation into the leaks and Manning was ultimately convicted and jailed for the leaks, although she later had her sentence commuted.
In November that year, WikiLeaks released a dump of more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables (some of which were published in the Guardian and elsewhere) which contained diplomatic analysis from world leaders, and the diplomats’ assessment of host countries and their officials.
After the leaks, Assange was heralded by many around the world as a hero who brought to light US military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, but his reputation was also tarnished by rape allegations, which he denied.
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John Shipton, Julian Assange's father: 'I don’t fade easily... neither does Julian'
John Shipton, Assange’s father, has also responded to the news, the ABC reports, saying, “I don’t fade easily, you know. And neither does Julian. It must be a family trait.”
He said, “The appearances are that Julian will be able to enjoy ordinary life with his family and his wife Stella, that’s my understanding.”
He added, “It looks as though Julian will be free to come back to Australia and my thanks and congratulations to all his supporters … that have made that possible, and of course, the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.”
What is the deal struck by Assange?
In short, the plea deal ensures struck by Assange with US authorities guarantees that he will admit guilt, and will spare him from any additional prison time.
Prosecutors have agreed to a sentence of the five years Assange has already spent in a high-security British prison while fighting to avoid extradition to the US to face charges, a process that has played out in a series of hearings in London.
The guilty plea must be approved by a judge, the Associated Press reports.
Assange had spent years hiding out in the Ecuadorian embassy in London after Swedish authorities sought his arrest on rape allegations before being locked up in the United Kingdom.
Last month, he won the right to appeal an extradition order after his lawyers argued that the US government provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.
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Christine Assange, Julian's mother: 'My son’s ordeal is finally coming to an end'
Julian Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, has told the Guardian:
I am grateful that my son’s ordeal is finally coming to an end. This shows the importance and power of quiet diplomacy. Many have used my son’s situation to push their own agendas, so I am grateful to those unseen, hard-working people who put Julian’s welfare first. The past 14 years has obviously taken a toll on me as a mother, so I wish to thank you in advance for respecting my privacy.
Stella Assange: 'This period of life, I'm confident now, has come to an end'
Stella Assange, Julian Assange’s wife, has just released a video statement recorded last week. The video was published by the organisation Free Assange. Stella Assange said:
It’s Wednesday the 19th of June. And it’s exactly 12 years today since Julian went into the embassy of Ecuador, which granted him political asylum…12 years on I’m visiting Julian in a high-security prison. This period of our lives, I’m confident now, has come to and end. And I think by this time next week, Julian will be free.”
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Where is Saipan – and why is Assange's hearing taking place there?
Saipan is the largest island and capital of the Mariana islands a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific.
The location of the court is because Assange is opposed to travelling to the continental US, and its proximity to his native Australia.
The Australian government's response
The Australian government has responded to news of Assange’s anticipated return to Australia after striking a plea deal with the US. His anticipated guilty plea must still be approved by a judge. This is expected to happen on Wednesday.
A spokesperson quoted by the Australia Broadcasting Corporation said, “We are aware Australian citizen Mr Julian Assange has legal proceedings scheduled in the United States,” and that, “Given those proceedings are ongoing, it is not appropriate to provide further comment.”
The government is still providing consular assistance to Assange, the spokesperson said, adding, “Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese has been clear — Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration.”
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The US justice department's letter
Here is the letter filed by the US justice department late on Monday. It says:
Your honour
We are attaching the electronically signed felony Information in the above-captioned matter and respectfully request that, as soon as possible, the clerk docket this letter and Information in order to provide public notice of the Rule 11 hearing scheduled before Your Honor in Saipan for Wednesday, 26 June 2024 at 9am, during which we anticipate that the defendant will plead guilty to the charge in the Information of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States, in violation of 18 US 793 (g) and be sentences by the Court for that offense.
We appreciate the Court accomodating these plea and sentencing proceedings on a single day at the joint request of the parties, in light of the defendant’s opposition to traveling to the continental United States to enter his guilty plea and proximity of this federal US District Court to the defendant’s country of citizenship, Australia, to which we expect he will return at the conclusion of the proceedings.
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Opening summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the breaking news that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is understood to have been granted bail and released from Belmarsh maximum security prison. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
In a video shared a short while ago on X by WikiLeaks, Assange is seen boarding a plane at Stanstead airport after his release from prison.
In a letter filed in court late Monday, the Justice Department said Assange is scheduled to appear in the federal court in the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific, and is ‘anticipated’ to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information.
The guilty plea must be approved by a judge, the Associated Press reports. It is anticipated that Assange will plead guilty to conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information. He is then expected to return to his native Australia.
The hearing is taking place in Saipan because of Assange’s opposition to traveling to the continental US and the court’s proximity to Australia.
We’ll bring you breaking developments, context and analysis in the hours ahead.
Here is what we know:
According to reports WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the US Justice Department that will free him from prison and resolve a long-running legal saga that centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents, according to court papers filed late Monday.
Assange is scheduled to appear in the federal court in the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific,
towhere it is anticipated he will plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information, the Justice Department said in a letter filed in court.He is expected to return to Australia after his plea and sentencing, which is scheduled for Wednesday morning, local time in Saipan, the largest island in the Mariana Islands.
The deal appears to ensure
sthat Assange will admit guilt while also sparing him from any additional prison time.
