٠٠:٠١:٢٤WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange received a round of applause from the assembled press as he left a US district courthouse in Saipan on Wednesday, after striking a plea deal with the US authorities.
Footage shows him leaving the building to shouts of "how does it feel to be a free man Mr Assange?" and "what's your message to journalists around the world?" Assange did not comment as he entered the waiting car, which took him to the airport for a flight to Canberra.
Assange had entered a 'guilty' plea to a single charge of espionage. While the offence carried up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Judge Ramona Manglona accepted the plea agreement and imposed a sentence of time served, amounting to the 62 months he spent in the UK's Belmarsh prison.
According to media reports, she also wished Assange a 'happy early birthday' and said he was a 'free man'. The US side confirmed that it was withdrawing the UK extradition request.
The WikiLeaks founder left Belmarsh on Monday evening after reaching the plea deal, boarding a plane at London's Stansted Airport.
The hearing's location in Saipan - the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth - was reportedly due to its proximity to Australia and his own opposition to travelling to the United States.
He had been detained in the London prison since 2019, and fought a long-running extradition battle with the US over 18 charges related to the release of classified documents involving the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was initially granted political asylum by Ecuador in the British capital in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police seven years later.
Applause for Assange - WikiLeaks founder departs Saipan courthouse 'a free man' following landmark hearing
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange received a round of applause from the assembled press as he left a US district courthouse in Saipan on Wednesday, after striking a plea deal with the US authorities.
Footage shows him leaving the building to shouts of "how does it feel to be a free man Mr Assange?" and "what's your message to journalists around the world?" Assange did not comment as he entered the waiting car, which took him to the airport for a flight to Canberra.
Assange had entered a 'guilty' plea to a single charge of espionage. While the offence carried up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Judge Ramona Manglona accepted the plea agreement and imposed a sentence of time served, amounting to the 62 months he spent in the UK's Belmarsh prison.
According to media reports, she also wished Assange a 'happy early birthday' and said he was a 'free man'. The US side confirmed that it was withdrawing the UK extradition request.
The WikiLeaks founder left Belmarsh on Monday evening after reaching the plea deal, boarding a plane at London's Stansted Airport.
The hearing's location in Saipan - the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth - was reportedly due to its proximity to Australia and his own opposition to travelling to the United States.
He had been detained in the London prison since 2019, and fought a long-running extradition battle with the US over 18 charges related to the release of classified documents involving the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was initially granted political asylum by Ecuador in the British capital in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police seven years later.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange received a round of applause from the assembled press as he left a US district courthouse in Saipan on Wednesday, after striking a plea deal with the US authorities.
Footage shows him leaving the building to shouts of "how does it feel to be a free man Mr Assange?" and "what's your message to journalists around the world?" Assange did not comment as he entered the waiting car, which took him to the airport for a flight to Canberra.
Assange had entered a 'guilty' plea to a single charge of espionage. While the offence carried up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, Judge Ramona Manglona accepted the plea agreement and imposed a sentence of time served, amounting to the 62 months he spent in the UK's Belmarsh prison.
According to media reports, she also wished Assange a 'happy early birthday' and said he was a 'free man'. The US side confirmed that it was withdrawing the UK extradition request.
The WikiLeaks founder left Belmarsh on Monday evening after reaching the plea deal, boarding a plane at London's Stansted Airport.
The hearing's location in Saipan - the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth - was reportedly due to its proximity to Australia and his own opposition to travelling to the United States.
He had been detained in the London prison since 2019, and fought a long-running extradition battle with the US over 18 charges related to the release of classified documents involving the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was initially granted political asylum by Ecuador in the British capital in 2012 but was dragged from the embassy by UK police seven years later.