Washington. The legal tug of war surrounding Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been going on for many years. Now the 52-year-old can look forward to a life in freedom.
In the years-long legal dispute surrounding Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition from Britain to the US, a surprising solution is emerging. Assange reached a deal with the US Department of Justice under which he would plead guilty to charges in the spying scandal in exchange for being spared further US prison terms, according to published court documents. However, a court still needs to approve the deal. According to plans, Assange is scheduled to appear in court this Wednesday in a remote US territory: the Mariana Islands.
The archipelago is located in the western Pacific, north of Australia, Assange’s homeland, and is under US sovereignty. A letter from the US Department of Justice said Assange should plead guilty to conspiring to illegally obtain and distribute classified documents at the court hearing. He was then to travel to Australia. According to US media, Assange will be sentenced to a good five years in prison – which he has already served in Britain.
The US government accuses him of stealing and publishing secret material from military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with whistleblower Chelsea Manning, thus putting the lives of US informants in danger. Assange’s supporters, however, see him as a target of Washington’s judiciary due to his exposure of US war crimes. If he is convicted without an agreement with prosecutors, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison for espionage.
In a maximum security prison for five years
Assange has been in Belmarsh maximum security prison in London for around five years. Before his arrest in April 2019, he had been on the run from law enforcement for seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. They initially targeted him over rape allegations in Sweden. However, these allegations were later withdrawn due to lack of evidence. He is now in prison without conviction. Human rights organizations, associations of journalists, artists and politicians have long called for Assange’s immediate release.
Assange recently appealed against his extradition from Britain to the US. In fact, this was due to be heard at the High Court in London in July. The High Court partially granted Assange’s request in May, thus preventing an immediate transfer of the 52-year-old to the US.
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The Australian government also campaigned for its citizen’s release. US President Joe Biden recently raised some hope in this direction. Asked whether the US would consider an Australian request to end proceedings against Assange, he said: “We are considering it.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240625-99-518898/3 (dpa)