Julian Assange is travelling to his native Australia on a private jet after US authorities agreed to drop their demand for the WikiLeaks founder to be extradited from the UK having struck a plea deal with him.
Assange had to pay $500,000 (£394,000) for a chartered flight from Stansted to Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands – a US commonwealth in the Pacific – where he will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
In exchange he will be sentenced to time served – the 62 months he has already spent in a British prison – according to court documents.
Once the guilty plea has been accepted by a judge, the 52-year-old will be free to return to Australia, the country of his birth.
The chartered flight stopped in Bangkok for refuelling on its way to Saipan.
Assange is accompanied by a WikiLeaks lawyer, a representative of the Australian government and a medic to check on his health.
American prosecutors had alleged Assange put lives at risk when he helped former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files WikiLeaks put online in 2010.
He had been locked in a legal battle in the UK over his extradition, which included him entering the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 prior to his detention in Belmarsh prison – where he has been since May 2019.
‘Julian is free!’
Advertisement
In a post on X, WikiLeaks said Assange left Belmarsh on Monday morning after being granted bail by the High Court. By the afternoon he was at Stansted Airport where he boarded a plane and left the UK.
“After more than five years in a 2×3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars,” the organisation said.
Mrs Assange shared on social media a video montage of her husband in a car and then boarding a plane.
She wrote: “Julian is free!!!!
“Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU – yes YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.”
She posted on X to say Assange will owe $520,000 to the Australian government for the charter flight and asked for donations to help pay for it.
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Speaking from Australia, Mrs Assange told the PA news agency: “It is hard to believe that Julian has been in prison for so long. It had become normalised. I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this.
“Overall I am elated but I cannot believe it is actually happening until I see Julian.”
Mrs Assange said her husband would not have been released without the intervention of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been increasingly vocal in his demands for the US to drop charges against Assange.
“The public climate has shifted and everyone understands that Julian has been the victim,” she said.
“Things are still very sensitive. Julian is paying for the flight so we will launch a fundraising campaign.”
She said she had travelled to Australia with the couple’s two young sons, Gabriel and Max, on Sunday when it became clear Assange would be freed.
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
WikiLeaks shared an update on Assange’s journey on X, posting a picture of him on a jet as it approached Bangkok for a stopover.
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Assange’s plea and sentencing on Saipan are scheduled for Wednesday morning local time (Tuesday evening UK time).
The hearing is taking place in the US Commonwealth territory because of Assange’s opposition to travelling to one of the 50 US states and the court’s proximity to Australia.
Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton told Sky News this morning the WikiLeaks founder is “overwhelmed to be out of prison”.
Mr Shipton added: “He’s been on a plane for a very long time now… I’ve been speaking to him this week and just going through all the details with him.
“He’s been very anxious, very excited, and he’s looking forward to spending time with his family and being free, being able to have the sun shining on his face, see the birds, go for a swim in the ocean back in Australia.
“He’s very much looking forward to that.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:08
Assange brother praises ‘global effort’
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Craig Murray, a friend of Assange, told Sky News the news was “absolutely wonderful”.
He said: “The whole family is totally elated that we have finally got an end to this terrible saga.”
Mr Murray said the entire ordeal has been “very taxing” on Assange with his imprisonment taking a toll on both his physical and mental health.
He added: “We are lucky that he is a very resilient man and he will recover and we will get our Julian fully back.”
Simon Crowther, Amnesty International’s legal adviser, said: “We welcome the news that Julian Assange is to be released, as we believe he should never have been imprisoned like this in the first place.
“The fight to protect freedom of expression continues though. The years-long global spectacle of the prosecution of a publisher for revealing alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations has undoubtedly done historic damage.”
A more than decade-long fight
Assange has been fighting extradition to the US for more than a decade.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:48
Australian PM: ‘We want Assange home’
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:00
Who is Julian Assange?
In a January 2021 ruling, then district judge Vanessa Baraitser said he should not be sent to the US, citing a real and “oppressive” risk of suicide, while ruling against him on all other issues.
Later that year, US authorities won a High Court bid to overturn this block, paving the way towards Assange’s extradition.
In June 2022, the UK government approved the extradition of Assange to the US, with then home secretary Priti Patel having signed the extradition order.
Why has the US dropped the extradition demand?
The US formally asked the UK to extradite Julian Assange to face charges that he conspired to hack government computers and violated an espionage law in 2019.
After five years, this request has been dropped, with the US having come to a plea deal with the WikiLeaks founder – but why now?
Former CIA chief of staff, Larry Pfeiffer, says it is not unusual for these sorts of espionage cases to be adjudicated through plea deals.
“In these sorts of cases justice may not be the only issue that needs to be dealt with,” he told Sky News.
Mr Pfeiffer said if the case ever went to trial it would have risked “sources and methods” that the US military and government use being exposed.
“[This case] also served as a thorn in UK-US relations and US-Australian relations,” he added.
“It was creating issues surrounding what we all love, which is liberty and freedom of the case. By resolving this we resolved some of those troublesome issues.”
Mr Pfeiffer says overall he thinks the plea deal is a “win, win”.
In Februaryof this year, he made one final attempt under UK law to avoid being sent to the US.
In March, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson dismissed most of Assange’s legal arguments – but said unless assurances were given by the US, he would be able to bring an appeal on three grounds.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
These assurances were that Assange would be protected by and allowed to rely on the First Amendment – which protects freedom of speech in the US – that he would not be “prejudiced at trial” due to his nationality and the death penalty would not be imposed.
Three months later, in May, two High Court judges ruled he would be allowed to appeal against being extradited,would not face the death penalty and he could rely on the First Amendment if he faced a trial for spying.
The Australian government said it continues to provide consular assistance to Assange.
“Prime Minister Albanese has been clear – Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration,” a spokesperson said.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump have faced off in the first debate in the 2024 presidential election campaign.
The format, with each taking turns to speak with their opponent’s microphone muted, was designed to prevent a shouting match with both candidates talking over each other.
In truth, it served to highlight the differences in the performances of the two men.
Mr Trump appeared confident, on the front foot and in command, even if his claims sometimes stretched the truth to breaking point.
Mr Biden on the other hand was hesitant, sometimes stumbling over his words and at one point appearing to freeze, less than 10 minutes into the debate.
The only time the US president appeared to land any blows was when he lost his temper and attacked Mr Trump and his “alley cat morals”.
After the debate, political figures and commentators broached the idea of replacing Mr Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:12
Joe Biden appears to stall during debate
It’s “time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic nominee,” one Democratic politician told Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
Another said: “This was like a champion boxer who gets in the ring past his prime and needs his corner to throw in the towel.” They added he meant Mr Biden should exit the race.
Advertisement
David Axelrod, a senior aide to former President Barack Obama, told CNN: “There is a sense of shock at how he came out at the beginning of this debate. How his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented.
“There are going to be discussions about whether he should continue. Only he can decide if he’s going to continue,” Mr Axelrod added.
Sky’s US correspondent Martha Kelner said some Democrats had described Biden’s debate performance as an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.
Changing candidates at this stage of the campaign would be difficult and unprecedented. Unless Mr Biden chooses to step aside, delegates at the Democratic National Convention would have to revolt – despite being elected on their pledge to nominate the president.
The debate mediators divided the time in to subjects, beginning with the economy.
Mr Trump claimed under his presidency the US had the “greatest economy in the history of our country”, only stalling when COVID struck.
Mr Biden hit back saying he inherited “an economy that was in freefall”.
“The pandemic was so badly handled… the economy collapsed,” he said.
“What we had to do is try to put things back together again. That’s exactly what we began to do.”
Early debate was a gamble Joe Biden may regret
This was an extraordinary evening.
Joe Biden’s debate performance was among the worst by any presidential candidate in history, if not the worst.
It was an “unmitigated disaster”, “a meltdown”, and “a slow-motion car crash”.
Those are not descriptors from Republican voters, they are the words of Democrats. Even former aides of President Biden admit it was a really horrible night for him.
I was literally gripping the sides of my seat at times it was so excruciating. Team Biden hoped to see State of the Union Joe on the stage, when the President gave a slick, impassioned and well-delivered speech.
Right from the start it became apparent this would be an entirely different version of him. His voice was hoarse, he was stumbling and there were long pregnant pauses.
I was struck by how much older he looked than the last time he was in the same room as Donald Trump four years ago.
“We finally beat Medicare,” he said with a misspeak that is sure to go viral, a sentence that does not make sense and was pounced upon by Donald Trump.
Biden was asked by the debate moderator about abortion, one of the strongest issues for the Democratic Party, a subject where he has the opportunity to really nail Donald Trump to the wall.
He somehow managed to ramble his way off-topic to talk about immigration, one of his biggest vulnerabilities. It was an open goal missed in spectacular style.
The debate descended near the end into a row between two senior citizens about who had a lower golf handicap and who could drive the ball further.
It summed up the quality, or lack thereof, of this debate. It might have been funny if it weren’t so depressing for American voters.
It is hard to believe that President Biden fought for this debate at this time, the earliest there has ever been.
His team calculated that, given he was trailing Trump in the polls and there were growing questions about his age and vitality, it was a risk worth taking.
But it was a huge gamble, given that this format is so exposing on the national stage. It could well be a gamble they come to regret.
For much of the debate, Mr Trump was forthright while President Biden, his voice hoarse, came across as hesitant.
On the issue of abortion, Mr Biden appeared to have slightly more success, describing the decision to overturn Roe v Wade as horrendous.
“It’s been a terrible thing what you’ve done,” he told Trump.
For his part the former president said it was right for individual states to decide policy on abortion.
Next came immigration, previously something of a “trump” card for the former president.
Mr Biden was asked about his record.
“The Border Patrol endorsed me, endorsed my position,” he said, before turning on Mr Trump.
“He was separating babies from mothers, putting them in cages, making sure that the families are separated [when he was in office],” he said.
Mr Trump responded: “We have the largest number of terrorists coming into our country right now.”
“That’s simply not true,” Mr Biden said.
“There’s no data to support what he said, once again, he’s exaggerating. He’s lying.”
Asked what he will do to address the crisis, Mr Trump said “we have to get them out” but didn’t specify any particular policy.
On Ukraine, Mr Trump was the first to answer, taking aim at Mr Biden’s handling of it.
“As far as Russia and Ukraine, if we have a real president, a president that was respected by Putin, then he would have never invaded Ukraine.”
Asked what he thought of Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Biden replied: “I’ve never heard so much malarkey in my whole life.”
He warned that if Mr Putin wins the war there is a risk he will go after other countries like Poland and Belarus. However, the strength of his argument was undermined by appearing to confuse Mr Trump and President Putin at one point.
The Middle East was next, with Mr Biden saying the US had “saved Israel”, referencing the ongoing support from his government and the organised defence against a massive Iranian air attack.
Trump however slammed his opponent’s handling of the crisis in the Middle East.
“He’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one,” he said.
Next came topics where Mr Biden genuinely had the chance to land some heavy blows: the Capitol riots and the litany of criminal cases facing Trump.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The odd punch did hit home but – as throughout the debate – Mr Trump appeared in charge, confident in his own version of the truth. He repeatedly said he did nothing wrong, claiming any action he encouraged was to be carried out “peacefully and patriotically”.
Mr Biden retorted: “He encouraged his folks up on Capitol Hill.
“Now he says if he loses again, [he’s] such a whiner, it is basically [going to be] a bloodbath.”
The only time Mr Trump appeared even slightly uncomfortable was when Mr Biden pointed out his recent criminal charges and called him a convicted felon.
“The only person on this stage that is a convicted felon is this man I’m looking at right now,” he said of the former president.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:16
The former president denies ‘sex with a porn star’
In one of his most forceful moments of the debate, Mr Biden referred to Mr Trump’s alleged sexual relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels, telling him: “You have the morals of an alley cat.”
The debate continued, covering racial inequality, climate change and the US opioid crisis, but in truth the optics varied little.
Mr Trump – a chin-jutting picture of arrogance and self belief. Mr Biden – often seeming to feel his age, only coming into his own when he lost his temper over what he clearly regarded as his opponent’s lies.
The debate revealed little of substance with regard to policy, with podcaster and analyst Tim Miller tweeting that it was “the worst debate in history”.
X
This content is provided by X, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to X cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow X cookies for this session only.
Those are not descriptors from Republican voters, they are the words of Democrats. Even former aides of President Biden admit it was a really horrible night for him.
I was literally gripping the sides of my seat at times it was so excruciating.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:12
Biden appears to stall during debate
Team Biden hoped to see State of the Union Joe on the stage, when the president gave a slick, impassioned and well-delivered speech.
Right from the start it became apparent this would be an entirely different version of him. His voice was hoarse, he was stumbling and there were long pregnant pauses.
I was struck by how much older he looked than the last time he was in the same room as Donald Trump four years ago.
Advertisement
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“We finally beat Medicare,” he said with a misspeak that is sure to go viral, a sentence that does not make sense and was pounced upon by Donald Trump.
Biden was asked by the debate moderator about abortion, one of the strongest issues for the Democratic Party, a subject where he has the opportunity to really nail Donald Trump to the wall.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:16
The former president denies ‘sex with a porn star’
He somehow managed to ramble his way off-topic to talk about immigration, one of his biggest vulnerabilities. It was an open goal missed in spectacular style.
The debate descended near the end into a row between two senior citizens about who had a lower golf handicap and who could drive the ball further.
It summed up the quality, or lack thereof, of this debate. It might have been funny if it weren’t so depressing for American voters.
It is hard to believe that President Biden fought for this debate at this time, the earliest there has ever been.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:32
Vice President Kamala Harris says Biden had a ‘slow start’
His team calculated that, given he was trailing Trump in the polls and there were growing questions about his age and vitality, it was a risk worth taking.
But it was a huge gamble, given that this format is so exposing on the national stage. It could well be a gamble they come to regret.
A former police chief has been charged over the response to the Uvalde school shooting in 2022.
The Uvalde County sheriff’s office said Pedro ‘Pete’ Arredondo has been booked and released from jail after a grand jury indicted him on 10 counts of child endangerment on Thursday.
He was the chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) police department when a former student carried out a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas.
The police force was heavily criticised for its response after it emerged that nobody attempted to confront the 18-year-old in adjoining classrooms 111 and 112 for 77 minutes.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:40
From 2022: Uvalde police chief fired
A grand jury in Uvalde also issued an indictment for Adrian Gonzales, another officer, over the police response to the mass shooting.
More on Texas
Related Topics:
The sheriff’s office could not provide specific details on any charges faced. Uvalde County district attorney Christina Mitchell told the Uvalde Leader-News newspaper Gonzales will be booked on Friday.
It marks the first criminal complaints lodged against any of the responding officers, with Arredondo and Gonzalez among the first to arrive at the school.
“The resulting delay provided an opportunity for the active shooter to have additional time to reassess and re-engage his deadly actions inside the classroom,” the report added.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:11
From January: Uvalde school shooting ‘series of major failings’
It also read: “More than one survivor recalled hearing someone state, ‘say help if you need help’, and when a child tried to say ‘help’, the subject re-entered room 112 from room 111 and shot the victim.”
Steven McCraw, Texas public safety chief, said in 2022 that there were enough armed police to stop the Uvalde gunman three minutes after he entered the school.
He added there was also a delay in entering the classroom while officers looked for a key, but the door was not locked and there was no evidence officers even checked.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
In November that year, CNN also released reports of a 911 call from Khloie Torres, 10, who was inside the classroom during the shooting.
She said: “Please get help. I don’t wanna die. My teacher is dead. Oh, my God.” Khloie survived the massacre.
It comes after the families of the victims filed lawsuits against Meta, Activision Blizzard and its parent Microsoft, and gunmaker Daniel Defense for alleged “collusion” in marketing weapons to young people.