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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Daniel Hurst in Canberra

Relentless lobbying and a garden party ambush: how Australia pushed for Julian Assange’s freedom

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange following a hearing at US district court in Saipan.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walks free from a court in the US Pacific island territory of Saipan, after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law. It brought an end to an extraordinary 14 year legal saga. Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Standing outside a US court on the island of Saipan in the western Pacific Ocean, lawyer Jennifer Robinson hailed the “historic” plea deal to secure the freedom of fellow Australian citizen Julian Assange.

After denouncing the case against the WikiLeaks founder as “the greatest threat to the first amendment in the 21st century”, Robinson gave a shoutout to the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, “for his statesmanship, his principled leadership and his diplomacy”. It was those outstanding qualities, she said, “which made this outcome possible”.

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