LONDON: Julian Assange's organization announced Tuesday that he is “free” after being released from a high-security London prison where he spent five years.
His release came after he reached a plea deal.
The 52-year-old Australian was transferred from Belmarsh prison to Stansted airport in London on Monday, according to a Wikileaks statement. From the airport, he boarded a flight to an undisclosed destination, he said.
Stella Assange, his wife, expressed gratitude to activists on Tuesday as the WikiLeaks founder was freed after five years in British custody.
“Julian is free!!!!” he wrote on social media platform X following confirmation that he had been released from high-security Belmarsh prison in south-east London. “Words cannot express our immense gratitude” to all those who supported the global push for his release, he added.
Stella Assange met the Australian editor while he was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, avoiding extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges that were later dropped.
Assange, accused of divulging US military secrets related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, was due to return to a London court next month after winning an appeal against extradition. However, WikiLeaks announced: “Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of June 24, after having spent 1,901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released. at Stansted Airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the United Kingdom.
The press freedom group claimed that a sustained campaign, from grassroots supporters to political leaders and the United Nations, “created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice”, which led to an agreement. However, the deal “has not yet been formally closed.”
Initially detained for jumping bail in the Swedish case, Assange remained in custody while the US extradition request moved through the courts.
Assange will now be reunited with his wife, whom he married in a prison ceremony, and their two young children. WikiLeaks emphasized: “WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories about government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles and for the people's right to know. As he returns to Australia , we thank everyone who supported us, fought for us, and remained fully committed to the fight for their freedom, ours.
