Julian Assange walked out of court after his felony conviction for espionage and computer misuse in Belmarsh maximum security prison
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked out of court a free man Tuesday after a hours-long court appearance Tuesday in which he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of violating the Espionage Act.
“Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks wrote in a statement posted to X. “He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there.”
Australian leaders have been lobbying the Biden administration to drop the criminal case for years. At the news conference in April, President Biden confirmed that American authorities had been considering a move.
A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted Assange on espionage and computer misuse charges in 2019, in what the Justice Department described as one of the largest compromises of classified information in American history.
“No responsible actor, journalist or otherwise, would purposefully publish the names of individuals he or she knew to be confidential human sources in a war zone, exposing them to the gravest of dangers,” said former Assistant Attorney General John Demers at the time of that indictment.
Despite the Espionage Act case against him, the human rights group and the Committee to Protect Journalists supported him.
The process of extraditening him took years after the American government sought to do so. The plea deal averts more legal proceedings over the extradition that had been set for early July.
He added: “I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all these circumstances.”
A Private Interview with a Black Hole Candidate in the Assange-Hrafnsson Insensate
The man wore a black blazer, white shirt, dress pants, and a gold tie. He was calm and didn’t talk much, except to his counsel. He appeared composed and his tone was measured. He interacted with the judge in a playful and charming way.
Before he entered his plea, he told the judge that he did not want a grand jury to indict him. When the interviewer asked if he was content with his legal representation, he replied: “That might depend on the outcome of the hearing.”
In the video captured outside of Belmarsh, Hrafnsson said that he hopes to see him again in the future. “If you’re seeing this, it means he is out.”
“This period of our lives, I’m confident now, has come to an end,” said Moris—now Assange—in a video prerecorded last week. I believe by this time next week, he’ll be free.
Before the election of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee emails were published by the organization. The leak that embarrassed the DNC and was praised by right-wing figures was done by two Russian hacking groups called Fancy Bear andCozy Bear which are connected to the GRU military intelligence agency.