WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange released from prison after striking deal with US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a London prison on Monday, June 24, after he sealed a plea deal with the US Justice Department in a nearly 14-year-old espionage case that centered around the publication of several classified defense documents, including the wrongdoings in Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and exposing government secrets.

After his plea deal with the United States, Julian Assange was taken from Belmarsh prison, where he had spent five years, to London’s Stansted airport. The 52-year-old Australian was later seen boarding a flight and flying to an unnamed destination. After his release, Julian Assange will be free to fly back to his native Australia.

Later this week, Julian Assange is expected to appear in a US federal court in the Mariana Islands on Wednesday and plead guilty to unlawfully obtaining classified national defense information, allowing him to walk free and ending multiple-country spanning legal saga, the Justice Department in its filing in court.