WikiLeaks founder Assange back to Australia as a 'free man'

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - A “calm and free” Julian Assange returned home to Australia after 14 years of detention over espionage charges by the US.

The WikiLeaks founder pleaded guilty to a felony charge, ending a years-long stalemate with the US government.

His plane landed in Canberra late Wednesday evening, local time, according to WikiLeaks.

Early today, Assange appeared in a courtroom on the US Pacific Island territory of Saipan in the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific Ocean near his native Australia.

Assange pleaded guilty to a felony charge of violating the Espionage Act after he was accused of obtaining and publishing classified military and diplomatic documents in 2010.

While entering the courtroom in a black suit, the WikiLeaks founder did not respond to reporters' questions.

Journalists covering the event said Assange was “calm.”

Outside the courtroom, Assange’s US attorney Barry Pollack said: “We firmly believe Mr Assange never should have been charged under the Espionage Act.”

“Julian walks out of Saipan federal court a free man. I can’t stop crying,” his wife Stella said on X.

He was released Monday from the Belmarsh maximum security prison following bail by the High Court in London before boarding a flight at Stansted Airport at 5 p.m. local time.

The plane carrying Assange landed Tuesday at Don Mueang International Airport in the Thai capital Bangkok to refuel before heading to Saipan.​​​​​​​