Judge says Assange will walk from Saipan courtroom a free man
Helen Davidson
“With this pronouncement it appears you will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man. I hope there will be some peace restored,” Judge Manglona says, noting the island of Saipan was this week celebrating 80 years of its own freedom.
Now there is some peace, you need to restore with yourself when you walk out and pursue your life as a free man.
Key events
US Justice Department statement: Assange prohibited from returning to US
The US Justice Department has released a lengthy statement.
What is most immediately striking about it is that it says that, “Following the imposition of sentence, he will depart the United States for his native Australia. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Assange is prohibited from returning to the United States without permission.”
Stella Assange, the wife of Julian, told Reuters on Tuesday they would seek a pardon were he to plead guilty. If this were granted, he might be allowed to return to the US in future.
Assange has arrived at Saipan’s airport and will shortly be boarding a plane bound for Canberra, Australia, the ABC reports.
Assange reportedly heading back to airport
Assange is on his way to the airport, where he will board a flight to Australia, the ABC reports. WikiLeaks posted on X earlier to say that Assange was expected to take a flight at roughly this time, 12.30pm. It has not departed yet.
This is Helen Sullivan taking the reins for a while – I’ll be bringing you a summary of the key developments this morning shortly.
Here are some photos of Julian Assange leaving the Saipan courtroom just a few minutes ago:
Assange leaves the courtroom
Julian Assange has just left the courtroom to applause and a huge media scrum. He gave a quick wave to those gathered before getting into a vehicle, but did not appear to say anything.
Members of Julian Assange’s legal team, Barry Pollack and Jennifer Robinson, have finished addressing the media outside of court.
Jennifer Robinson concluded:
This sets a dangerous precedent, this prosecution sets a dangerous precedent, that should be of concern to journalist everywhere.
The US is seeking to exercise extraterrestrial jurisdiction over all of you without giving you constitutional free speech protections, and anyone who cares about free speech and democratic accountability should stand against it …
I hope that the fact that we have been able to free Julian Assange today against all of the odds and against one of the most powerful governments in the world will give hope to all journalists and publishers who are imprisoned around the world, and we encourage everyone who stood to fight for Julian to continue the fight for him, and for all of those others in the hope that we can secure their future freedom too.
You can watch the press conference live below:
Helen Davidson
Australian human rights lawyer and member of Assange’s legal team, Jennifer Robinson, is now addressing the media.
She says it’s a historic day and finally after 14 days he can go home a free man.
She thanks his supporters around the world and noted a “global movement behind Julian to protect free speech.” She then turned to thank the Australian government:
In particular, I want to thank our prime minister Anthony Albanese for his statesmanship, his principled leadership and his diplomacy, which made this outcome possible … He raised at the highest level, at every opportunity, and when Australian officials were making outreach to the US, they knew that they were acting with the full authority of the prime minister of Australia…
I also want to thank our attorney-general Mark Dreyfus, our foreign minister Penny Wong and give particular thanks to our US ambassador and former prime minister Kevin Rudd for his adept diplomacy and his relentless efforts in Washington that facilitated our negotiations with US government and this outcome.
Helen Davidson
He won’t answer how long it took to get this deal.
62 months in Belmarsh.
Assange’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, continued:
What set a chilling precedent is the prosecution … The court today determined no harm was caused by his publication. We know that they were newsworthy, we know that they were quoted by every major news outlet on the planet and we know that they revealed important information. That is called journalism.
That is what has a chilling effect … the United States pursuing journalism as a crime. I hope this is the first and last time this ever occurs.
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.”
He is a powerful voice and a voice that cannot and should not be silenced.
Assange’s lawyer addresses the media
Julian Assange’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, is now addressing the media outside the court:
The prosecution of Julian Assange is unprecedented in the 100 years of the espionage act, it has never been used by United States to pursue a publisher, a journalist, like Mr Assange.
Mr Assange revealed truthful, newsworthy information, including revealing that the United States had committed war crimes. He has suffered tremendously in his fight for free speech, for freedom of the press, and to ensure that the American public and the world community gets truthful and important newsworthy information.
We firmly believe that Mr Assange never should have been charged under the espionage act and engaged in [an] exercise that journalists engage in everyday and we are thankful that they do. … It is appropriate for the judge, as she did today, to determine that no additional incarceration of Mr Assange would be fair, appropriate, and it is time for him to be reunited with his family.
Mr Assange is grateful for all of the support that he has received and looks forward to reuniting with his wife and his children and getting back home to Australia.
He said that Assange would not be taking questions.
Helen Davidson
The media are now waiting outside the court for a potential press conference – we’ll bring you the latest as soon as we can.
