James Myers of OAN
Wednesday, June 26, 2024 10:37 AM
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrived in his native Australia on Wednesday and was reunited with his family.
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The 52-year-old pumped his fist as he stepped off a private jet at Canberra Airport at 5:30am EST (7:30pm local time), and was later seen embracing an emotional wife, Stella, and lifting her off the ground.
Assange’s arrival came just hours after he pleaded guilty to leaking secret U.S. military information in a deal that saw him released after a 14-year legal battle.
Speaking at a press conference just hours after Assange’s arrival, his wife choked up as she said he “needs time” to recover and to be reunited with his two young children, aged four and two, who have only ever known him as a prisoner.
“Please give us space, give us privacy, let us find our place, let us be a family before he is able to speak again at a time of his choosing,” Stella told reporters.
“Julian told me he really wanted to thank everybody. He wanted to be here, but we need to understand what he’s been through. He needs time. He needs to recover, and it’s a process.”
Assange’s return to his home country will bring to an end a years-long saga that has seen him spend more than five years in a maximum security prison in Britain, plus seven years in exile in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
He also faces possible extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault charges and was facing 18 criminal charges in the United States.
The charges stem from WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of thousands of secret US military documents about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, considered one of the largest leaks of classified information in US history.
But the criminal case came to a surprising end when Assange pleaded guilty early Wednesday in US District Court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, and then returned to Australia.
Assange’s lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said reports had suggested the first person the released prisoner spoke to by phone was Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“We are absolutely delighted to have Julian back home in Australia,” Robinson told reporters.
“The moment I arrived in Australia, the first person the Prime Minister spoke to on the phone was Julian, so it was very emotional.”
“Julian thanked him and the team and told the Prime Minister they had saved his life – and I don’t think that’s an exaggeration,” she added.
Albanese, who has called for Assange’s release for several years, described the phone call as a “very warm discussion”.
“He was very complimentary of the Australian government’s efforts,” the prime minister said. “The Australian government stands up for the Australian people. That’s our mission.”
Assange also pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Espionage Act during a three-hour hearing in Saipan as part of a plea deal with Justice Department prosecutors.
“Working as a journalist, I encouraged sources to provide information that was allegedly classified in order to make it public,” Assange told the court.
“Although I believed the First Amendment protected my conduct, I acknowledge that it violated the Espionage Act.”
Moreover, Chief U.S. District Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted his guilty plea and ordered his release after serving the time he has already served in a British prison.
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