Julian Assange freed after a deal with US justice

Julian Assange pleaded guilty on 26 June 2024, before a federal court in Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands), to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information. The judge sentenced him to time already served — more than five years in Britain’s Belmarsh prison — and he was released. He flew to Canberra that same day.

The deal ended more than a decade of legal battles, including his long stay in Ecuador’s embassy in London. Press-freedom organizations welcomed his release but warned of the precedent: it is the first time the US Espionage Act has been used successfully to secure the conviction of a publisher for releasing classified information.

For investigative journalism, the case leaves an open question about the legal limits of publishing leaked documents of public interest.

Sources: US Department of Justice; Freedom of the Press Foundation; RSF.