Photo: Chung Sung-Jun via Getty Images
MOSCOW, 26 June. INTERFAX.RU - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty on Wednesday in court on the Pacific Ocean island of Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory), ABC television reported. The court found Assange guilty.
As specified, Assange pleaded guilty to "conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information", which carries a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks said on the social network X that Assange will leave for Australia on a flight to Canberra in two hours and 58 minutes.
The founder of WikiLeaks has been released as part of a deal with the US Department of Justice and will be able to return home to Australia.
The trial is being held on the island of Saipan because Assange has steadfastly refused to travel to the mainland US to have his case heard. Moreover, the chosen venue is relatively close to Australia.
Under the terms of the agreement, US prosecutors will reportedly seek a prison sentence of 62 months, which is the same amount of time Assange has already served in a maximum security prison in London. However, the plea deal must be approved by a federal judge, which is expected to happen on Saipan.
After the deal was struck, Assange, who was in custody at Belmarsh Prison, was released on bail and left the UK.
In April 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice said it charged the WikiLeaks founder with conspiring with former WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning to hack into government computer networks and disseminate classified military documents. The US justice authorities later announced their decision to bring additional charges against the WikiLeaks founder in a further 17-count indictment. In the United States, Assange faced 175 years in prison.
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