Assange lands back in his native Australia a free man (2024)

Julian Assangehas kissed his wife Stella as he arrived in his native Australia as a free man after a US judge wished him 'an early happy birthday' before releasing him.

Assange touched down in the country's capital Canberra at 7.37pm local time (10.37am London time, 5.37am New York time), where he was reunited with his wife Stella.

As he saw his wife Stella for the first time, Assange hugged and kissed her before wrapping her in a tight embrace and lifting her up in the air.

Eight hours earlier Assange walked free from a US federal courton thePacific island of Saipan without probation or supervision, but he is banned from ever entering the USagain without permission from American authorities.

JudgeRamona V Manglona told Assange after wrapping up the case:'With that... Mr Assange it's apparently an early happy birthday to you. I hope you will start your new life in a positive manner.'

Shortly before her husband landed in Canberra, Mrs Assange revealed that hewants to swim in the ocean every day and teach their children to catch crabs now that he is back in Australia.

Ms Assange appeared on The Project on Wednesday night shortly before her husband touched down in Canberra.

She was quizzed about what his first words to her were. 'That he missed me and he couldn't wait to see me later tonight and all the things that we're going to do over the next few days, weeks,' Ms Assange told the program.

Ms Assange said she 'cried happy tears' when her husband was released without probation or supervision from a US federal court on Saipan.

Eight hours earlier Mrs Assange had shared a picture of the WikiLeaks founder walking out of court on X and wrote: 'Julian walks out of Saipan federal court a free man. I can't stop crying.'

Speaking from Australia, Mrs Assange added: 'It is hard to believe that Julian has been in prison for so long. It had become normalised. I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this.

'Overall I am elated but I cannot believe it is actually happening until I see Julian.'

A plea deal with American prosecutors paved the way for Assange to return home without fear of arrest after 14 years as a wanted criminal suspect.

The plea deal saw Assange plead guilty to a single felony charge after the US dropped 17 other espionage charges against him.

Assange admitted to his role in the conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act and was sentenced to time already served in a British prison.

The WikiLeaks founder's arrival in Australia comes just hours after James Clapper, the former head of US intelligence,slammed the celebrations surrounding Assange's release and called the Australian 'no hero.'

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today show, Clappercalled Assange's actions wrong and illegal.

He went on to say that US assets in Afghanistanwere likely killed due to WikiLeaks revealing their identities in government documents.

Assange was wanted for espionage since 2010 after WikiLeaks released thousands of classified US military documents, and for unrelated rape charges in Sweden.

He fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London in June 2012 when he lost his appeal against extradition to Sweden, and spent seven years hiding there until he was kicked out and locked up in a top-security prison since April 2019.

JudgeRamona V Manglona accepted his guilty plea and debated whether to fine Assange up to US$150,000 or order probation or supervised release.

After discussion with Assange's lawyer Barry Pollack and US Attorney Matthew McKenzie, she decided against either and let him walk out a free man.

'You will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man. I hope there will be some peace restored,'Manglona declared.

'Given the factual basis that accounts the whole saga of events that constitutes the basis for this very serious espionage charge against you…I am in fact sentencing you to a period of time served,' she said.

'I am not imposing any period of supervised release.'

An emotional Assange could barely speak as he said 'I do' after being asked if he understood the details of the agreement.

US AttorneyMatthew McKenzie then said the US would withdraw its extradition request for Assange in the UK.

But PresidentJoe Biden's decision to reach a plea deal with Assange has been slammed as a 'miscarriage of justice' by former vice president Mike Pence.

Pence wrote on X: 'Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

'The Biden administration's plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families.

'There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.'

WikiLeaks shared a photo of Assange hugging his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, earlier today with Australia's ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, in the background.

Ms Robinson also shared a photo of Assange on X, writing: 'We did it. 14 years of legal battles and we are finally taking him home to Australia to be reunited with and his kids - and giving him his life back.

'So many thank yous to make - and will come. Can't wait to touch down in Australia.'

Assange moments later walked out of the court to huge cheers from his supporters, giving them a wave but not saying anything before getting into a waiting car.

He was driven directly to the airport where he flew out on Flight VJT199, which departed at 1pm on Wednesday, local time.

The flight was delayed from its original 12.10pm departure time, likely to accommodate Assange arriving from the courthouse. It finally arrived in Canberra at 7.37pm local time.

The US Justice Department issued alengthy statement announcing Assange's guilty plea, and revealing he was banned from entering the country.

'Following the imposition of sentence, he will depart the United States for his native Australia. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Assange is prohibited from returning to the United States without permission,' it said.

The WikiLeaks founder wore a suit and tie as he arrived at the US District Court about 8am local time on Wednesday (11pm Tuesday London time, 6pm Tuesday New York time), ahead of the hearing

Local media reported that almost all of the seats in the public gallery of the court, the smallest, youngest and furthest from the capital, have been filled for the case that has been more than a decade in the making.

When asked why he believed he had been charged with the crime, he told the court: 'Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information.I believe that the First Amendment protected that activity.'

Once he was read the charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US documents, he said he pleaded guilty to the crime. He denied that anyone tried to bribe, intimidate or coerce him into his plea.

Manglona began deliberating on Assange's sentence, which could include a one to five year probation, and a fine of US$15,000 to US$150,000.

Assange's lawyers argued he could not afford such a fine, and the plea agreement with the US recommended not imposing a fine.

The judge saidAssange would be credited the entire 62 months he spent in the high security Belmarsh Prison in the UK after his arrest on April 11, 2019.

Assange has been a wanted man since 2010 when WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq- the largest security breaches of their kind in US military history - along with swathes of diplomatic cables.

In 2012, as authorities circled him for that and over 'credible and reliable' sexcrime allegations from a woman in Sweden, he fled into London's Ecuadorian embassy where he remained for seven years in often farcical circ*mstances.

Ecuador eventually tired of him being there, revoked his asylum, and kicked him out in 2019 - leading to his immediate arrest and imprisonment in the UK while he fought extradition to the US.

Assange's lawyers saidoutside court after the hearing that WikiLeaks would continue and 'Mr Assange, I have no doubt, will be a continuing force for freedom of speech and transparency in government'.

They said Assange would give no comment but instead they said on his behalf:'Mr Assange is grateful for all of the support that he has received and looks forward to reuniting with his wife and his children and getting back home to Australia.'

The release from Belmarsh - where he has spent five years, largely in solitary confinement, fighting extradition -comes days ahead of his 53rd birthday on July 3.

Assange paid half a million US dollars (£394,000) for a chartered flight from Stansted, accompanied by his WikiLeaks lawyer, a representative of the Australian government and a medic to check on his health.

WikiLeaks has launched a fundraising campaign to pay for the flight, which the Australian government reportedly fronted, according to the Telegraph.

Assange's wife Stella said her relief at his release was coupled with anger that he had spent so long in prison.

She said she travelled to Australia with the couple's two young sons Gabriel and Max on Sunday when it became clear that Assange would be freed.

Mrs Assange said her husband's release would not have happened without the intervention of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been increasingly vocal in demands for the United States to drop charges against Assange.

In a High Court order, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson said Assange left the jurisdiction of England and Wales at 6.36pm on Monday, after the plea agreement was signed on June 19.

But while Assange's allies claimed this was a victory for press freedom, sources told the Telegraph the Biden administration simply 'threw in the towel' as it did not believe a Labour government would extradite him.

Geoffrey Robertson KC, the WikiLeaks founder's former legal advisor who once mentored Sir Keir Starmer when he was a young barrister, told the newspaperthat US prosecutors simply believed they 'couldn't rely on' Labour to deliver on the extradition they've fought for for years.

'Even if America was successful, it would depend on the government of the day as to whether he was actually extradited.'

Assange's father John Shipton said he felt 'elated' at hearing the news of his son's dramatic journey from the UK and that his release had 'lifted a huge burden' from his family.

He said recent court hearings in the UK had given him hope that the 'tide was turning' in his son's favour, as well as increasing pressure from the Australian government.

Speaking from Australia, he said he hoped his son will spend time 'walking along beaches and listening to birds' in the next few weeks and months.

'Doing cartwheels is a good expression of the joy that one feels that Julian is [returning] home,' he said.

Assange's mother, Christine Assange, told Australia's Sky News that she is 'grateful' her son's ordeal is 'finally coming to an end'.

She said: 'This shows the importance and power of quiet diplomacy. Many have used my son's situation to push their own agenda, so I am grateful to those unseen, hardworking people who put Julian's welfare first.

'The past 14 years have obviously taken a toll on me as a mother, so I wish to thank you in advance for respecting my privacy.'