After spending five years in a British prison, it was reported that after reaching an agreement with the United States Department of Justice, Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, will be released.
Part of the agreement he reached was that he will plead guilty to the charges against him in the United States, which will allow him to be free and not go to jail in the North American country.
Julian Assange was facing several charges for violating the US Espionage Act after leaking classified information on US history to the media through his WikiLeaks website.
The published documents included secrets from the Iraq war, Afghanistan and details of the detainees in Guantánamo, as well as cables from the State Department, among others.
Julian Assange reaches plea deal
According to the first media reports, Julian Assange would have reached a plea agreement which was presented this Monday in the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean.
He’s expected to appear in that court and be sentenced next Wednesday, June 26, however, the time he has already been in prison would be taken into account, so by serving the sentence with the time he has already been incarcerated, he will automatically be released and no longer face a new prison sentence.
Since Julian Assange was indicted and accused of the various charges against him in 2010, the case has caused outrage among many supporters around the world, as they argue that Assange, as editor of WikiLeaks, shouldn’t face charges for leaking information.
There are even press freedom defenders who claim that criminally charging Assange represents a threat to freedom of expression.
