Julian Assange Discussion

Julian Assange is free! Sort of.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty this week to violating espionage law in the United States, according to court filings, in a deal that will end his imprisonment in the United Kingdom and allow him to return home to Australia.

Assange, 52, agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing on the island of Saipan in the Pacific at 9am on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).

“Julian Assange is free,” Wikileaks said in a statement posted on X.

“He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stanstead airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.”
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And a video of him boarding the plane, with a write-up below from Wikileaks.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1805390138945528183

Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.

This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible.

After more than five years in a 2x3 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 published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people's right to know.

As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.

Julian's freedom is our freedom.
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iamthatis said:
Julian Assange is free! Sort of.
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That's a great news! Sort of.

The island of Saipan is US' territory. I'm not sure one can trust the US. But even if they won't break the deal that has not yet been "formally finalized"...

Ryan said:
They would have never allowed such a deal if it didn't look like the extradition was going to fall through on appeal.
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Maybe they chose it knowing that the extradition wouldn't work so it was the only way left to get him. Either they already have an 18th count against him ready, or something else. Such individuals never forgive and never forget. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere within so called "collective West". And somehow cannot stop thinking "Prigozhin". Hope he and his team are aware of potential risks.
 
Possibility of Being said:
Maybe they chose it knowing that the extradition wouldn't work so it was the only way left to get him. Either they already have an 18th count against him ready, or something else. Such individuals never forgive and never forget. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere within so called "collective West". And somehow cannot stop thinking "Prigozhin". Hope he and his team are aware of potential risks.
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or they found a way to gag him for life, made him sign all sorts of NDAs and whatnot.
 
Possibility of Being said:
Maybe they chose it knowing that the extradition wouldn't work so it was the only way left to get him. Either they already have an 18th count against him ready, or something else. Such individuals never forgive and never forget. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere within so called "collective West". And somehow cannot stop thinking "Prigozhin". Hope he and his team are aware of potential risks.
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If the US had to resort to such a publicly-visible double-cross, it would nuke Biden's chances of re-election, which I think is also one of the key considerations for why they offered a plea deal. With the Assange issue resolved, the US and UK establishments can now avoid that situation creating any inconvenient headlines as they focus on upcoming elections.

I agree that there is a higher long-term risk of him "dying unexpectedly" at some point if he and his family remain in the West, so if I was him I'd be looking to relocate to Russia, pronto. Pretty sure Ed Snowden owes him a favour or two in this regard.
 
I still wonder if he's sitting on some damaging info and they know it, and that serves as some protection for him. His death could have been arranged at any time while he was in prison, his parents, wife and kids could have been threatened or harmed. I remember early stories of Assange where initially he was arrested for hacking, but was later used to help track pedophiles online.

Also, we don't really know yet if he's the same man that got locked away. They may have attempted to mess with his mind. It will be interesting to see what he does next.
 
Navigator said:
I am curious, would the Biden campaign, on the other hand, try to capitalize on this?
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I think that's part of the plan. It will play well with the Democrat base and help prop up the illusion in their minds of the 'moral righteousness' of the US in the realm of freedom of speech. It also prevents Trump from being able to use the situation as a wedge in the Democrat base, and potentially embarrass them by pardoning Assange in the unlikely event he regains the presidency. Trump really should have pardoned Assange when he had the chance. Even if he regains the presidency and pardons him retrospectively, it will at most have only symbolic value.
 
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