Julian Assange

June 26, 2024 5:28 PM

What is WikiLeaks and why did it get Julian Assange in so much trouble?

Julian Assange, founder of whistleblower media group WikiLeaks, is due to strike a plea bargain this week that would free him from jail and allow him to return home to Australia after a 14-year-long legal saga. WHAT IS WIKILEAKS? On its website, WikiLeaks says it is a multinational media organisation that specialises in analysing and publishing databases of censored or otherwise restricted materials involving wars, spying and corruption. It was founded by Assange in 2006 and lists several int...

SAIPAN, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS - JUNE 26: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange leaves the United States Courthouse on June 26, 2024 in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, appeared before the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands in Saipan on Wednesday for a change of plea hearing. Following his guilty plea to a felony charge under the Espionage Act, Assange was sentenced to time served and subsequently released, paving the way for his return to Australia as a free man, after years of incarceration and intense lobbying for his release from across the political spectrum. Assange's lawyer said that the work of WikiLeaks will continue "and Mr Assange, I have no doubt, will be a continuing force for freedom of speech and transparency in government," media reports said. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

June 26, 2024 10:18 AM

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange heads to Australia after U.S. guilty plea

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked free on Wednesday from a court on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating U.S. espionage law in a deal that allowed him to head straight home to Australia. His release ends a 14-year legal saga in which Assange spent more than five years in a British high-security jail and seven years in asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy in London battling extradition to the U.S., where he faced 18 criminal charges. During the three-...

June 25, 2024 9:40 AM

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange strikes a deal with US that could allow him to walk free

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to enter a plea deal with the Joe Biden administration that could pave the way for him to avoid imprisonment in the United States, according to recently filed federal court documents. The WikiLeaks founder has reportedly consented to plead guilty to a felony charge connected to his alleged involvement in one of the largest breaches of classified US government material. This agreement, if approved by a federal judge, would see Assange receiving a 62-mo...

May 20, 2024 10:32 PM

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange wins right to appeal extradition from Britain to US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given permission on Monday to appeal against extradition to the United States after arguing at London's High Court that he might not be able to rely on his right to free speech in a U.S. court. The Australian-born Assange, 52, is wanted in the U.S. on 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act, relating to WikiLeaks' mass release of secret U.S. documents - the largest security breaches of their kind in U.S. military history. The High Court had in March ...