WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has walked free from a court in the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan, after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law, in a deal that left him free to return home to Australia and brought an end to a 14-year legal saga.
The court accepted a plea deal reached between Assange and the U.S. government, under terms which required him to admit guilt to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defence documents.
In return he was sentenced to time served, with no supervisory period or financial penalty, due to time already served in Belmarsh prison in London. He flew out of Saipan, headed for Canberra, on Wednesday.
"The work of WikiLeaks will continue, and I have no doubt that Mr. Assange will remain a force for free speech and transparency. He has a strong voice that cannot be silenced," Assange’s lawyer said.
