Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has agreed to plead guilty to violating US espionage laws.
The agreement is set to be finalised on Wednesday, June 26. According to the Justice Department, Assange will not be detained by the US government and will be free to return to his home in Australia.
Arrest and Detention
Assange, 52, was arrested in 2019 by British police for allegedly obtaining and sharing information about both America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through WikiLeaks.
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 stated on social media.
Stella Assange celebrated her husband s release with a post on X, showing Assange arriving at Stansted airport. Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU yes, YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true, she said.
Prosecutors Allegations
Federal prosecutors accused Assange of revealing the identities of individuals who provided information to the US government, an allegation he denied, claiming he was acting as a journalist.
In 2010, Assange was accused of rape and sexual assault in Sweden. To avoid extradition, he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he stayed for seven years until his eviction in 2019.
Although Sweden dropped its investigation in 2017, Ecuador revoked his asylum in 2019, leading to his arrest by British police at the request of the US.
Role in the 2016 Election
WikiLeaks played a significant role in the 2016 US election by releasing hacked emails from Hillary Clinton s campaign, as well as information about the Democratic National Committee.
The release of over 150,000 emails revealed details of Clinton s paid speeches to Wall Street companies, tense communications and concerns about the Clinton Foundation. However, neither Assange nor WikiLeaks were charged for their involvement in this case.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
He did the world a favour and went to jail for it. He´s a hero. Here´s to the continuation of journalism where the disgusting behaviour of politicians and governments continues to be revealed to the public
Reply
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Almeria, Axarquia, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
