Julian Assange flies out of UK on $500,000 private jet after being freed in US plea deal
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.
Assange at the airport after leaving prison. Pic: WikiLeaks
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!’
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.
Stella Assange with her children, Max and Gabriel, marking Julian’s 50th birthday back in 2021. Pic: Reuters
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.
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.
Stella Assange speaking in London on 26 March. Pic: PA
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.
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.
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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.”
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Assange brother praises ‘global effort’
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.
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Australian PM: ‘We want Assange home’
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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.
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In February of 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.
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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.
Donald Trump has announced that most goods imported from Mexico and some from Canada are to be exempt from his trade tariff regime for at least four weeks, just days after the charges were imposed.
“We are working hard, together, on the border, both in terms of stopping illegal aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping fentanyl,” the president posted on his Truth Social platform after first relaxing his sanctions against Mexico.
He often gives both issues as reasons for the tariffs.
The latest climbdown came after he surprised financial markets 24 hours earlier by waiving tariffs against carmakers following pleas from motor industry bosses.
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The White House said that 62% of Canadian imports would still be subject to 25% tariffs because they were not compliant with a trade deal – USMCA (US Mexico and Canada) – struck in 2020.
News that Canadian goods which met the USMCA criteria were being spared tariffs until 2 April followed hours after the same concession was agreed between Mr Trump and his Mexican counterpart.
A tariff of 10% was to remain on potash – a fertiliser used by farmers – and Mr Trump added that the auto tariffs would definitely return next month.
The White House revealed some details. Parts due to flow into the US from Mexico and Canada as part of the manufacturing supply chain would not qualify for tariffs so long as they complied with the USMCA deal.
‘Rules of origin’ guidelines under the agreement allow goods to move between the three countries tariff-free if they qualify with a designation that they were made in North America.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told Sky’s US partner network CNBC that, taken together, more than half of usual cross border trade volumes would be exempt under the expanded concessions.
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He too signalled there were signs of progress in the dispute with America’s closest trading partners, saying each had worked hard to make progress in tackling imports of Fentanyl – blamed for high crime and deaths in US communities.
But Mr Lutnick explained that, as things stand, the reprieve would only last until 2 April when the Trump administration plans to impose reciprocal tariffs – on top of the 25% charges that came into force on Tuesday.
At the same time, Mr Trump is under intense pressure to relax his tariff regime permanently amid a backlash from US firms and financial market investors who fear it is self defeating.
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A closely-watched forecast has even suggested that the threats of a trade war were enough to push the US economy into recession before Mr Trump took office.
The dollar has sunk in value and US government borrowing costs have risen on the back of the turmoil.
US stock markets were also feeling the pressure again with the tech-heavy Nasdaq on course to fall by more than 3% on the day.
It is widely expected that the European Union will be next to face tariffs – possibly from 2 April – after Mr Trump threatened action “very soon” just last week.
Commenting on the threat to the eurozone from such a move, the president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde said on Thursday: “Just the threat of those tariff increases and potential retaliations are putting a brake on – on investment, on consumption decisions, on employment, hiring, all the rest of it.”
While Mr Trump has not issued a specific threat against the UK, her counterpart at the Bank of England Andrew Bailey told a committee of MPs on Wednesday that the US should work “multi-laterally” rather than bilaterally to resolve its disputes.
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US ‘destroying’ international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’, Ukraine’s UK ambassador warns
The United States is “finally destroying” the international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia “halfway”, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has warned.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Washington’s recent actions in relation to Moscow could lead to the collapse of NATO – with Europe becoming Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s next target.
“The failure to qualify actions of Russia as an aggression is a huge challenge for the entire world and Europe, in particular,” he told a conference at the Chatham House think tank.
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“We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order.”
Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters
Mr Zaluzhnyi, who took over as Kyiv’s ambassador to London in 2024 following three years as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, also warned that the White House had “questioned the unity of the whole Western world” – suggesting NATO could cease to exist as a result.
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scrambles to repair relations with US President Donald Trump following a dramatic row between the two men in the Oval Office last week.
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Mr Trump signalled on Tuesday that tensions could be easing, telling Congress he had received a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying he was ready to sign a peace deal “at any time”.
Zelenskyy and Trump during their extraordinary Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
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But on the same day, the US president ordered a sudden freeze on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine, and Washington has since paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and halted cyber operations against Russia.
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Mr Zaluzhnyi said the pause in cyber operations and an earlier decision by the US to oppose a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were “a huge challenge for the entire world”.
He added that talks between the US and Russia – “headed by a war criminal” – showed the White House “makes steps towards the Kremlin, trying to meet them halfway”, warning Moscow’s next target “could be Europe”.
Lesotho’s foreign minister has said it is “insulting” for Donald Trump to say nobody has heard of the country.
In his address to the US Congress on Tuesday, the US president mentioned Lesotho while listing some of the foreign spending he had cut as “appalling waste”.
“Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of,” Mr Trump said, drawing laughs in the Congress.
The president also appeared to struggle to pronounce the country’s name.
Lesotho’s foreign minister, Lejone Mpotjoane, said: “I’m really shocked that my country can be referred to like that by the head of state.
“Lesotho is such a significant and unique country in the whole world. I would be happy to invite the president, as well as the rest of the world, to come to Lesotho,” Mr Mpotjoane told the Reuters news agency.
He later told The Associated Press: “It is surprising and disappointing that he claimed no one knows Lesotho, especially given that the US has an embassy here.
“He should speak for himself and not generalise.”
The Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign aid worldwide as part of the president’s America First policy.
Lesotho, which has a population of around 2.3 million people, has received American assistance for nearly 20 years through USAID, which gave it more than $44m (£34.1m) last year.
The Maluti Mountains in Butha Buthe, Lesotho. File pic: Reuters/Sumaya Hisham
The Katse dam in Lesotho. File pic: ReutersVictor Antonie
Mr Mpotjoane said while civil society organisations funded by the US embassy in Lesotho did work to support the LGBT+ community, the US also provided important funding to the country’s health and agriculture sectors.
The cuts have forced Lesotho’s HIV programme to lay off at least 1,500 health workers – about 7% of the country’s health staff – in what the government has described as a severe blow.
US aid has been credited with helping Lesotho provide life-saving treatment to more than 200,000 people living with HIV.
Mr Mpotjoane said the government was looking at how to become more self-sufficient.
“The decision by the president to cut the aid… it is [his] prerogative to do that. We have to accept that. But to refer to my country like that, it is quite unfortunate.”
This wasn’t the first time Mr Trump has reportedly been disparaging about Africa. During his first term, it was reported that he referred to African nations, as well as Haiti and El Salvador, as “shithole countries” – though Mr Trump denied this.
Elon Musk, a key adviser to Mr Trump and proponent of the foreign aid cuts in his role as head of the new department of government efficiency, has been trying to do business in Lesotho in recent months.
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Mr Musk’s Starlink internet satellite service, a subsidiary of SpaceX, has applied for a license to operate in Lesotho. It is one of several African countries where the company is bidding to win contracts.
The Lesotho Communications Authority said last month it recently received Starlink’s bid for a 10-year license.
Prince Harry also co-founded the charity Sentebale to support children who live in extreme poverty or suffer from HIV/AIDS in Lesotho.
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