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After signing a plea deal with the Justice Department, Julian Assange is going to be a free man. The Wikileaks founder has been holed up in a British prison since 2019, but will admit to a charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to the national defense, allowing him to walk free.
He’s expected to be served with a 62-month prison sentence, time he has already served in Belmarsh Prison, London. He is due to visit the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday to receive his sentence, but first will be reunited with his wife Stella Assange and their children on Tuesday in Australia, the Wikileaks founder’s homeland. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had previously called for Assange’s return.
«This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organizers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations», Wikileaks wrote in a tweet. «This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalized.»
Stella Assange has said that after the plea deal has been signed, her husband will ask for a presidential pardon.
