Julian Assange pleads guilty as part of US freedom deal
- June 26, 2024
- 0
This was stated by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. guilty of violating the US Espionage Act for leaking classified documents as part of an agreement with the US government
This was stated by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. guilty of violating the US Espionage Act for leaking classified documents as part of an agreement with the US government that would allow him to be free and return to Australia with his family.
In court in the Northern Mariana Islands, Assange, as expected, pleaded guilty to criminal charges of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified US documents in connection with the largest leak in US history in 2010, which included almost half a million documents. on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Before pleading guilty, the WikiLeaks founder sat up straight, his hands carefully folded, and his expression neutral as he answered several questions from Judge Ramona Villagomez Manglona about the implications of the plea deal that This includes, among other things, a waiver of your right to appeal.
Guilty of information
Finally, Assange leaned into the microphone and, when asked whether he pleaded guilty or not guilty, replied: “Guilty of information,” according to the British newspaper. The keeper.
The guilty plea took place without cameras in a US federal courtroom located on the island of Saipan, the capital of the Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean.
The Australian’s defense requested the hearing be held at this location due to its proximity to Australia and the fact that Assange did not want to go to the continental United States.
According to what was captured on cameras entering the court, Assange, 52, has grey hair slicked back and is wearing a dark suit and white shirt.
He wore a tie by Vivienne Westwood and Andreas Kronthaler.
He also wears a dark copper tie with the names of the designers Vivienne Westwood + Andreas Kronthaler, who were responsible for creating the clothes that the Australian, his wife Stella and their two children wore to the wedding. in 2022. The tie also has a heart symbol on it.
Following the guilty plea, US prosecutors proceeded to read out an agreement reached with Assange’s defense stating that the accused would plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 62 months in prison, which he had already served at Belmarsh maximum security prison. (Great Britain).
The pact stipulates that he will receive credit for time served so that Assange will be released after the trial and will be able to return to his Australia, where his wife Stella and two children await him.
Assange will leave for Australia on Wednesday
WikiLeaks wrote on its X account that Assange’s plane will take off from the Northern Mariana Islands to Australia at around 12:15 local time on Wednesday (02:15 GMT).
The plea deal marks the end of a legal saga that has seen Assange spend more than five years in a high-security British prison and seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London while facing sex crimes charges in Sweden and fighting his extradition to the United States. States. (EFE)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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