WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, 52, pled guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to access and disclose classified US military information, skipping a lengthy trial and incarceration and paving the way for his freedom.
“Guilty to the information,” Assange joked with the judge during the hearing at a District Court in the US territory of Northern Mariana Islands, following his refusal to travel to the country’s mainland.
In a lighter vein, he told the judge that his satisfaction depended “on the outcome of the hearing.”
With this, Assange skips lengthy trials and prison time for his sensational WikiLeaks disclosures in 2010 of alleged wrongdoings of the US government in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
Later, US diplomatic cables were released with security threat assessments and inputs on leaders of other nations, sometimes with embarrassing details.
Assange left Belmarsh maximum security prison on June 24, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK, read a WikiLeaks tweet.
It has been reported that as part of the plea deal Assange is likely to be sentenced to 62 months in prison but will be credited for the five years already served in Britain.
A controversial figure, hailed as a hero by advocates of free speech and a villain by those who believe he gave away state secrets, Assange wore a blue shirt and jeans as he boarded a flight at London's Stansted Airport on June 24.
The Australian government, Assange’s home country, welcomed the resolution, stating his case had "dragged on for too long."
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