Julian Assange: Wikileaks co-founder arrested in London

[bust]

Been following this all day.

And he's having a stopover in Bangkok 😀

Julian Assange freed from UK prison under plea deal with US Justice Department

Posted 7h ago7 hours ago, updated 2h ago2 hours ago

 

Julian Assange departs UK after plea deal

 

• In short: Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, is a free man after five years of imprisonment in the UK.
• Court documents say Mr Assange will plead guilty to espionage in the US, ending years of legal proceedings over his extradition from the UK.
• What's next? Mr Assange is set to be sentenced to 62 months' jail, but freed on account of time already served. He is then expected to return home to Australia.

WikiLeaks says its founder, Julian Assange, has been released from a British prison and has flown out of the United Kingdom.

The announcement followed the release of court documents that revealed Mr Assange would plead guilty to violating US espionage law, under a deal that would allow him to return home to Australia.

Follow our live blog for the latest developments on Julian Assange's release.

Mr Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing in the Northern Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States in the western Pacific.

He is expected to return home after that hearing, on the island of Saipan.

 

A filing from the US Department of Justice describes a plea deal regarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.(Reuters: US Department of Justice)

WikiLeaks posted a statement on social media platform X saying Mr Assange was free and had left the UK on Monday morning local time.

Part of the statement read: "This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grassroots 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."

The Australian government has long been pushing the US to resolve the case, which has for years been tied up in British courts.

In May, the UK's highest court allowed him to lodge another appeal against his extradition to the US, which was due to be heard in July.

Family grateful ordeal is coming to an end

Mr Assange's parents have expressed joy and relief over their son's release.

"I am grateful that my son's ordeal is finally coming to an end," Christine Assange said.

"This shows the importance and power of quiet diplomacy.

"Many have used my son's situation to push their own agendas, so I am grateful to those unseen, hard-working 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."

Mr Assange's father, John Shipton, told ABC Victorian Statewide Mornings his son had spent 15 of his most productive years "in some form of incarceration or another".

 

Julian Assange holds a document in footage released by WikiLeaks. (WikiLeaks)

"The appearances are that Julian will be able to enjoy ordinary life with his family and his wife, Stella, that's my understanding," he said of the plea deal.

"It looks as though Julian will be free to come back to Australia and my thanks and congratulations to all his supporters in Australia that have made that possible, and of course Prime Minister Anthony Albanese."

In a video message recorded on Wednesday June 19, Stella Assange said she was confident this period of their lives had come to an end.

"By this time next week, I'm confident he will be free," she said.

"Things are moving very quickly and it is very difficult for us to plan or even play out the next few hours and days.

"If everything goes well, Julian will be on a plane on the way to freedom."

 

In a prerecorded video, Julian Assange's wife and WikiLeaks' editor-in-chief discuss the situation.

She added: "We still need your help, what starts now with Julian's freedom is a new chapter.

"This new chapter in Julian and our lives, we ask for your support. In the coming hours we intend to start an emergency fund for Julian's health and recovery."

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson also prerecorded a message.

"I can say in earnest that without your support this would have never materialised — this important day of joy, the day of Julian's freedom," he said.

"Thank you so much."

Legal document outlines single criminal charge

An Australian government spokesperson said it was too early to comment on Mr Assange's release, given legal proceedings were ongoing.

"The Australian government continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Assange," the spokesperson said.

"Prime Minister Albanese has been clear — Mr Assange's case has dragged on for too long and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration."

The Australian government has been pushing the US to resolve the case and allow Mr Assange to return home.

In February, the Lower House passed a motion — supported by Labor, the Greens, independents and Liberal MP Bridget Archer — urging the US and the UK to drop the case and allow Assange's return to Australia.

And last year, a delegation of MPs from the Labor, Liberal, National and Greens parties and independent Monique Ryan travelled to Washington to lobby members of Congress.

The US Justice Department has long refused to publicly discuss the case. But in April, President Joe Biden said "we're considering it" when asked if he had a response to Australia's request that he end Mr Assange's prosecution.

 

Julian Assange's plea deal ends a protracted legal battle.

Filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands show that US prosecutors have filed criminal paperwork against Mr Assange that is typically a preliminary step before a plea deal.

The paperwork outlines a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-25/julian-assange-released-from-prison/104017664

[Coss]

As a cynic, can I ask, how does a guilty plea, affect one's martyrdom status?

Can one continue to be martyred, if the alleged crime is admitted?

[bust]

 

The way I see it by entering a guilty plea he waives the right to have the charges proven in a fair trial with the opportunity to defend himself.

As for being a martyr, it can be used to describe someone who suffers significant consequences in the support of a belief or protest.

I reckon spending 14 years being pursued by the United States for exposing the atrocities of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan probably covers that.

His last swipe at the US Justice System in the court was when asked to explain his understanding of the charge by the judge he replied

"I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction."

Interestingly of all the media outlets and journalists who published the documents he was the only one charged.

Even Chelsea Manning had her/his sentence commuted after 7 years by Obama

[Coss]

I reckon his guilty plea is a Martyrdom achievement badge, much as I dislike his persona, the release of the info, is in retrospect, a good thing.

 

[bust]

Interestingly the Judge acknowledged there were no victims which was the basis of the charges. The still frequently point raised is that he put lives at risk.

There are claims there was a lot of misinformation around that point.

[Coss]

I don't wanna raise too many "but if you're conducting a war, then... " points, lest I appear to be right wing and supportive of the military - industrial complex. I am not.

I will say however, with both Grandfathers serving in WW1 and my parents and me and my siblings, able to be raised and enjoy life, in a Western Democracy, that it could have been different.

I married a Japan person and got to know the culture and such, very well. Her father, may have been in Nanjing, circa 1937. Awful, awful times. The whole society, famous for politeness and honesty and high culture, has an underbelly that was/is still injured and healing, not to mention their challenges, after the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

My point is - on the one hand - bad things happen in a military context - one the other hand - having glory hounds reveal information in pursuit of fame and fortune, is not always the best outcome.

 

*note for the interested person: Glory Hound = Attention Whore = anyone who rejoices with the epithet "Influencer".

[bust]

10 hours ago, Coss said:

My point is - on the one hand - bad things happen in a military context - one the other hand - having glory hounds reveal information in pursuit of fame and fortune, is not always the best outcome.

In 1991 Assange was probably Australia's most accomplished hacker. He and two others founded International Subversives magazine, offering tips on "phreaking" – how to break into telephone systems illegally and make free calls. The magazine had an exclusive readership: its circulation was just three, the hackers themselves.

In the spring of 1991, the three hackers found an exciting new target: MILNET, the US military's secret defence data network. Quickly, Assange discovered a back door. He got inside. "We had total control over it for two years," he later claimed.

Not sure it was ever about fame and fortune for him.

[Coss]

 

13 hours ago, bust said:

Assange was probably Australia's most accomplished hacker. 

I take your point.

I offer a contrasting option.

There are many folk, for whom, such exploits are and have been achievable. From both sides of the game.

and "We had total control over it for two years," is the equivalent of a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar saying, "Oh yeah I eat cookies whenever I want, all the time".

Many people who can and have done such things, do not, then go on to smash the cookie jar open, in front of the Church Congregation on Sunday during service...

 

 

[bust]

But what if it was a pedophile priest putting the cookies in the jar?

 

[Coss]

Certainly if I became aware of an incursion into a network or other, that i was responsible for, I might give them enough rope to hang themselves.

Esp if the information was going to be released anyway, not that I could possibly know, that this might be the case in the Assange case.