CRIME, POLICE + COURTS

Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, reaches plea deal with U.S. government

Jun 25, 2024, 8:00 AM

Julian Assange greets supporters at the Ecuadorian embassy in London....

FILE - In this May 19, 2017 file photo, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he was in self imposed exile from 2012-2019. Assange has just entered into a plea deal with the United States concerning leaks of classified military documents. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

WASHINGTON — Some call him a criminal, others say he’s a hero. Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, has taken a plea deal from the United States government, according to an AP report. The plea deal allows Assange to return to Australia.

Julian Assange founded Wikileaks in 2006 and used it as a platform to share leaked documents and media with the world. Wikileaks has published large amounts of classified information, including the 2010 Chelsea Manning leaks. These leaks contained videos and documents from the Afghanistan war, leading to accusations of war crimes committed by the U.S. military.

After Assange spent years in asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, he was arrested in 2019. He had remained incarcerated in London ever since, but has now left for Australia.

 

Assange has long been a figure of controversy. He is both the winner of awards for journalism and the subject of criminal investigations and arrest warrants. Court documents reveal that Assange’s plea deal directly connects to the Chelsea Manning leaks. 

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Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, reaches plea deal with U.S. government