Julian Assange LATEST: Wikileaks to give press conference in Australia after founder strikes plea deal to return to homeland as a ‘free man’ despite admitting espionage charge in US-controlled court

Julian Assange’s wife Stella said she ‘can’t stop crying’ after a US judge released her husband without probation, with the WikiLeaks founder due to arrive in his native Australia.

His wife Stella shared a picture of the WikiLeaks founder walking out of court on X and wrote: ‘Julian walks out of Saipan federal court a free man. I can’t stop crying.’

Read Nic White and Perkin Amalaraj’s report here:

Stella Assange has told Australian media her husband wants to swim in the ocean ‘every day’ when he returns to Australia.

Ms Assange said the couple had spoken about what activities they want to do as soon as he touches down in his homeland.

Journalists have assembled at a Canberra military base where Julian Assange will touch down on his return to Australia.

His wife Stella will be among those to meet him at the airport.

Stella Assange, the wife of Julian, has described how her ‘very excited’ sons are jumping around ‘like two little balls’ with their father due to land in Australia in less than an hour.

Speaking on a live stream operated by the Assange campaign, she said she was ‘elated, excited and exhausted’ as she prepares to meet her husband at Canberra airport.

She says their two sons, aged five and seven, are ‘very, very excited.’

I can’t get my head around it. It’s like I’m having an out of body experience.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is no hero and people may have died because of his actions, the former United States director of national intelligence has suggested.

James Clapper said Assange’s guilty plea to a felony charge is ‘important to a lot of people’.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

There is somewhat of a religious argument here between those who are proponents of transparency and those who are concerned about security. This is an endless argument. I understand what they are saying but I don’t think he is a hero.”

What he did was wrong and illegal and one of our federal grand juries saw fit to indict him on 18 charges, espionage-related charges. The concern that we have is the potential identity and compromise of assets, (the) Iraqis and Afghans who were helping us, as well as jeopardising sources and methods.

Asked if he thought there are people who are not alive today due to his behaviour, Mr Clapper said:

I imagine there are some people because they were identified as having helped us and they were doing that on a clandestine basis – when they were outed I can imagine that some of them may have lost their lives given the situation particularly in Afghanistan.

The political reaction in Australia to Julian Assange’s case and return has been a mixed picture with some MPs celebrating his release, while others say he should not be worshipped.

Here’s a flavour of the difference of opinion

James Paterson, a senator in Victoria who is the opposition spokesman for home affairs, told AAP

Julian Assange is no hero, but it is a welcome thing that this has finally come to an end.

The reason why it’s gone on for a long time is that he was evading lawful extradition requests. It is a credit to the United States that they are showing such leniency towards someone accused of such a serious crime.

This follows similar comments from his opposition colleague Jane Hume, who said Assange was “no hero” of hers but that she welcomed his return: We’re very pleased to see him returned to Australia, but I don’t think that hero-worship is an appropriate response.

WikiLeaks has released a picture of Julian Assange speaking to wife Stella as he prepares to land in Canberra.

The company has scheduled a press conference in the capital for 12.15pm UK time.

Julian Assange’s brother has said he will campaign for the WikiLeaks founder to be pardoned after he was convicted of espionage in a US court.

The conviction means Mr Assange is banned from entering the US and would require special permission for visits

Gabriel Shipton told the BBC:

We’re going to campaign now for a pardon for Julian

We’re going to be asking President Biden for a pardon, so that this conviction can be taken off the books.

You know our allies in the Congress, Representative Jim McGovern has already tweeted out that this is a very very concerning precedent for people in the United States.

Jennifer Robinson, a human rights lawyer who has represented Mr Assange for more than a decade, shared a picture of herself and the Wikileaks founder to say she can’t wait to touch down in Australia.

Ms Robinson also represented Amber Heard in Johnny Depp’s 2020 libel case against The Sun.

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s Prime Minister, has addressed his country’s parliament following the outcome of the Julian Assange case.

Regardless of your views about his activities – and they will be varied – Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long. I have said repeatedly that there was nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration. I am pleased that he is on his way home to Australia to reunite with his family here.

Over the two years since we took office my government has engaged and advocated, including at leader level, to resolve this. We have used all appropriate channels [and] this outcome has been the product of careful, patient and determined work.

The Australian government continues to provide consular assistance to Mr Assange as he returns home.

WikiLeaks, the publisher of leaked documents founded by Mr Assange, has scheduled a press conference in Canberra tonight.

The company has not specified whether Mr Assange will speak at the event or even be in attendance but takes place around a couple of hours after his arrival into the country.

Earlier, Wikileaks shared an image of Mr Assange embracing his lawyer Jennifer Robinson, moments after his plea deal was finalised.

After he was released from court, Mr Assange left Saipan on a private jet to the Australian capital Canberra, where he is expected to land around 7:30pm (10.30am UK time), according to flight logs.

The island is about six hours away from Australia by plane and was chosen as a location for Mr Assange’s hearing owing to its proximity to his homeland.

Speaking to Reuters news agency in Canberra, his father John Shipton said:

That Julian can come home to Australia and see his family regularly and do the ordinary things of life is a treasure. The beauty of the ordinary is the essence of life.

See this video explainer below:

We can also bring you footage of the moment Mr Assange’s 14-year legal saga came to an end of the US island of Saipan.

Here are some of the most striking photographs following Mr Assange’s release from court on the island of Saipan.

During a three-hour hearing in Saipan, Mr Assange pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified national defence documents but said he had believed the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects free speech, shielded his activities.

Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information.

I believed the First Amendment protected that activity but I accept that it was… a violation of the espionage statute.

Chief US District Judge Ramona Manglona accepted his guilty plea, noting that the U.S. government indicated there was no personal victim from Assange’s actions

You will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man. I hope there will be some peace restored

Given the factual basis that accounts the whole saga of events that constitutes the basis for this very serious espionage charge against you…I am in fact sentencing you to a period of time served.

Firstly, let’s recap what happened earlier as Mr Assange walked free from court after pleading guilty to a single espionage charge.

The WikiLeaks founder was released without probation or supervision after a hearing in a US federal court on the Pacific island of Saipan.

However, he is banned from entering the US ever again without permission from American authorities.

Read Nic White and Perkin Amalaraj’s story here:

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Julian Assange’s return to Australia following his release from a US federal court.

Mr Assange will arrive in his homeland ‘a free man’ after agreeing to a plea deal which has brought an end to his 14-year legal saga which has seen him incarcerated in a high-security prison and South American embassy in the UK.

The 52-year-old is expected to arrive in Canberra in the next hour and a press conference hosted by Wikileaks is taking place later on.

We will bring you all the latest updates on Mr Assange’s return plus pictures, videos and the best reaction from social media.