Wikileaks writes on the messaging service X that Julian Assange (52) has been released following an agreement with the United States, and that he left Belmarsh prison in London on Monday morning. – He was released on bail at Stansted Airport this afternoon, where he got on a plane and left the UK, writes Wikileaks in a statement. Wikileaks has published a video on X showing Assange signing documents before he boards a private plane. A video published on X by Wikileaks is supposed to show Julian Assange signing documents and boarding a private plane Wikileaks The only VistaJet plane that left Stansted Airport on Monday now has a stopover in Bangkok, writes Reuters. Assange will now be on his way to a court hearing on the island of Saipan in the Pacific Ocean, which is part of the American Commonwealth. After the hearing, the plan is for him to travel to his home country of Australia, according to Wikileaks. The agreement with the US means that Assange must plead guilty to one charge. For this, he will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, equivalent to what he has already served, according to court documents. This is reported by the news agency Reuters and NBC News, among others. Assange is supposed to be on his way here, to Saipan in the autonomous Northern Mariana Islands. Timeline: Julian Assange in court Norsk PEN: Fear that Assange would die in prison Erling Borgen of the writer and freedom of expression organization Norsk PEN describes the release as a “fantastic development”. – It came as a surprise, but at the same time we believed and at least hoped that things happened behind the public spotlight, he says to news. – Assange has spent five years in a terrorist prison, treated in an incredibly undignified manner, and has become sicker and sicker. Borgen is strongly critical of the fact that two Norwegian foreign ministers, Anniken Huitfeldt and Espen Barth Eide, have looked at how Assange has been treated without commenting on the matter. Journalist Erling Borgen in Norsk PEN at a demonstration for Assange’s release in February. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås – I thought that Assange might die in prison and that the scandal would be even bigger, because European government politicians have not lifted a finger to get him released, he says. Borgen believes that Assange did the world a favor when he published 700,000 documents that exposed “US war crimes” in Guantanamo, Afghanistan and Iraq. – I feel very strongly and very well that this nightmare now seems to be over. To supporters around the world, Assange remains a hero. But many are also critical of the fact that all these documents were published without glossing over details that could put individuals at risk. Thanking supporters Those who are closest to Assange take the cheers with reservations. They believe that freedom is not set in stone until the judge in the Northern Mariana Islands signs the agreement on Wednesday. His wife Stella Assange nevertheless thanks all her husband’s supporters. – Julian is free!!!! writes Stella Assange on X. – Words cannot describe our enormous gratitude to you, yes you, who have mobilized year after year for this to happen, writes Stella. Lawyer and human rights activist Stella Assange rejoices over the agreement that the US has entered into with her husband Julian. Here from Oslo last year. Photo: Alf Simensen / NTB His parents have also commented on the case to the Australian ABC. – It looks like Julian will have the opportunity to return to Australia. Thanks and congratulations to all his supporters who have made it possible, and of course Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, says Father John Shipton. Mother Christine Assange says the last 14 years have been a “recognition”. – Many have used my son’s situation to promote their own agendas, so I am grateful to the unseen, hard-working people who put his welfare first. – Bring Assange home, says an advertising poster in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: WILLIAM WEST / AFP A year-long dispute Assange has not yet commented on the settlement with the US. He is being prosecuted by the US government for his role in the 2010 leak of around 700,000 classified documents relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The settlement appears to be the end of a year-long dispute between the US and Assange. In 2006, Assange was one of the founders of the website Wikileaks, which on several occasions published classified material from several countries. Here is Assange outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The picture was taken in 2017. Photo: Frank Augstein / AP / NTB The 52-year-old Australian has been imprisoned in the British Belmarsh prison in London since April 2019. He was arrested after spending seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was suspected of sexual crimes. The Swedish investigation was concluded in 2019. The news of the settlement was not expected in advance and became known on the night of Tuesday Norwegian time. Resisted extradition to the USA Actually, it was expected that the next chapter in the saga would be a court hearing this summer on extradition to the USA. The Americans have long asked for Assange’s extradition, which he has opposed for fear of a very severe punishment. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he wants Assange to be allowed to return home to Australia as soon as possible, according to Reuters. This document from the United States Department of Justice was sent out late Monday night. Photo: Reuters – I have been very clear that regardless of what people think about Julian Assange and his activities, the case has gone on for far too long, said Albanese. – There is nothing to be gained by him continuing to sit in prison, and we want to get him home to Australia. Published 25.06.2024, at 01.27 Updated 25.06.2024, at 08.49
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Julian Assange released from prison – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
