WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from prison in London and left Great Britain after reaching a plea deal with US authorities in exchange for his freedom.
Assange is accused of conspiring to obtain and publish information about US national defense.
The United States of America (USA) has claimed for years that the WikiLeaks files, which revealed information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, endangered lives, the BBC reminds.
Assange has spent the last five years in a British prison, from where he fought extradition to the US.
According to CBS, Assange will not go to a US prison and will be given credit for the time he spent in prison in the UK. He will return to Australia, according to a letter from the British Ministry of Justice.
“Wikileaks” announced on the “X” network that its founder left Belmarsh prison yesterday, after spending 1,901 days in a small cell.
“He was then released to Stansted Airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and left the UK to return to Australia,” the statement added.
His wife Stella Assange thanked his supporters “who mobilized for years to make this happen” through the “X” network.
Assange’s plea deal is expected to be finalized in court in the Northern Mariana Islands tomorrow.
The remote Pacific islands, which are under US jurisdiction, are much closer to Australia than the US federal courts in Hawaii or the US mainland.
A spokesman for the Australian government said Assange’s case was “dragging too long”.
Photo: IT news
