Julian Assange's Plea Deal Hearing Begins In Saipan, Expected To Return To Australia

The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has initiated his plea deal hearing in Saipan, a U.S. Pacific island. This deal is anticipated to lead to his release and return to Australia.

What Happened: Assange, 52, is expected to plead guilty to a single criminal charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents. This plea deal will result in his release from imprisonment in Britain and his subsequent return to Australia, reported Reuters.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands has received the filings confirming Assange's intention to plead guilty. He is expected to be sentenced to 62 months, equivalent to the time already served. The sentencing will take place on Wednesday at 9 a.m. local time on the island of Saipan.

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Assange’s choice of the U.S. territory in the western Pacific was influenced by his reluctance to travel to the mainland U.S. and its proximity to Australia, prosecutors stated.

Why It Matters: Assange’s decision to plead guilty to a U.S. espionage charge is expected to end his protracted legal battle and allow him to return to his home country, Australia. This development has sparked mixed reactions, with some celebrating his release and others expressing concerns about the implications of his plea deal.

Meanwhile, Stella Assange, the wife of the Wikileaks founder, announced they would seek a pardon for Julian Assange after he agreed to plead guilty to violating U.S. espionage law. She also noted the need to raise funds for the half-million-dollar cost of his return flight to Australia, according to a separate Reuters report.

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. celebrated Assange’s release while expressing concerns over the plea deal. He took to X, formerly Twitter, to voice his concerns about the potential impact of the case on the field of journalism.

Image by Cancillería del Ecuador via Flickr

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal