Julian Assange Freed After Plea Deal with US Justice Department

Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has been freed after 12 years of confinement, including seven years in the Ecuadorian embassy and five years in a high-security UK prison. Assange struck a plea deal with the US Justice Department, pleading guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defense information, which resulted in his release on time served. The hearing took place in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, to accommodate Assange's wish to avoid the continental US. The plea deal prevents Assange from re-entering the US but allows him to return to Australia. This resolution brings an end to a long legal saga involving charges that ranged from espionage to publishing classified military documents. Both sides have expressed a degree of satisfaction with the outcome, with Assange’s legal team and his supporters celebrating his return to freedom.