"Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, returns to Australia as a free man"

Julian Assange's lengthy struggle with US prosecutors concluded unexpectedly when a judge accepted his guilty plea to a single charge of conspiracy.

Canberra: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has returned to Australia as a free man, following his admission of revealing US defense secrets, a confession that paved the way for his release from a London prison. Assange touched down in Canberra on a chilly evening aboard a private jet, concluding an international saga that saw him transition from five years in Britain's high-security Belmarsh prison to a courtroom in a US Pacific island territory, and finally, back to his homeland.

Emerging from the plane with his white hair slicked back, the Australian raised his fist in triumph. He then crossed the tarmac to warmly embrace his wife Stella, lifting her off the ground, before hugging his father. Assange, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and brown tie, was greeted by dozens of television journalists, photographers, and reporters peering through the airport fencing.

WikiLeaks announced on X that a press conference would be held in the Australian capital at 9:15 pm (1115 GMT) on Wednesday, without specifying if Assange would attend.

John Shipton, Assange's father, expressed his relief: "He will be able to spend quality time with his wife Stella and his two children, and enjoy the simple pleasure of walking on the beach and feeling the sand between his toes in winter."

Assange's protracted legal battle with US prosecutors concluded unexpectedly in the Northern Mariana Islands, where a judge accepted his guilty plea to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information. The remote location was chosen due to Assange's reluctance to enter the continental United States and its proximity to Australia.

In a behind-the-scenes legal negotiation with the US Justice Department, Assange was sentenced to time already served—five years and two months in London—and granted his freedom.

"You will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man," the judge declared.

Assange gained notoriety for publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential US documents on WikiLeaks starting in 2010. While he became a hero to free speech advocates, he was viewed as a threat by those who believed he jeopardized US security and intelligence sources.

"I encouraged my source to provide material that was said to be classified," Assange admitted in court.

His lawyer, Jen Robinson, hailed the day as "historic," marking the end of 14 years of legal battles and recognizing it as the greatest threat to the First Amendment in the 21st century.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his satisfaction with the resolution, stating that the case had dragged on for too long, regardless of differing opinions on Assange's actions. The United Nations also praised Assange's release, citing human rights concerns raised by his case.

However, former US Vice President Mike Pence condemned the plea deal on social media platform X, calling it a "miscarriage of justice" that dishonored the service of US Armed Forces members. The US Justice Department announced that Assange is banned from returning to the US without permission.

US authorities had sought to prosecute Assange for leaking military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was indicted by a US federal grand jury in 2019 on 18 counts related to WikiLeaks' publication of national security documents, including videos of civilians being killed by US helicopter gunfire in Iraq in 2007.

In 2019, Assange was arrested and held in Belmarsh prison while fighting extradition to the US. He had previously spent seven years in Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden over now-dropped sexual assault allegations. During his time in the embassy, he met his wife Stella, and the couple married in Belmarsh prison. They have two young children.

Stella, overwhelmed with emotion, shared on X, "I can't stop crying." Later, she expressed her excitement to reporters as she left a Canberra hotel with Assange's father to reunite with her husband at the airport.

The plea deal announcement came just two weeks before Assange was set to appeal a British court ruling approving his extradition to the US. Washington had charged Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act, with supporters warning he faced a potential 175-year prison sentence.

Though the plea deal was not entirely unexpected, US President Joe Biden faced increasing pressure to drop the case. The Australian government had formally requested this in February, and Biden indicated he would consider it, giving Assange's supporters hope that his ordeal might finally be over.