Julian Assange: WikiLeaks founder's 12-year legal battle is finally over

Australian finally leaves Britain, avoiding extradition to the United States, for a new life in Australia

Julian Assange during his time inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. PA

Julian Assange's plea deal has ended a 12-year saga in which he was holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London before spending years in a British high-security jail.

In that time, he has got married and had two children – one while at the embassy and one while being held in prison.

He has always insisted he was fighting for the freedom of the press after releasing thousands of top secret documents and should not be extradited to the US. He also fought allegations of sex crimes in Sweden.

What happens next and why is he going to Saipan?

Australian-born Mr Assange, 52, landed in Bangkok on Tuesday, en route to a court hearing in Saipan, the capital of Northern Mariana Islands.

The deal means he will walk free after it takes into account time served in Belmarsh prison while on remand.

How was the deal reached?

In March, two High Court judges said they would grant him a new appeal unless given assurances, including that he would not face the death penalty.

The US was also asked to confirm that he could use in his defence the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects free speech, and that his trial and sentencing would not be prejudiced by his Australian nationality.

His wife, Stella Assange, said on Tuesday that this recent case appeared to have been the breakthrough.

What did Julian Assange do?

Mr Assange drew the world's attention in 2010 when WikiLeaks published about 750,000 classified US documents and diplomatic cables, which exposed possible war crimes, torture and secret military operations, as well as unveiling the often unseemly behind-the-scenes activities of US diplomacy.

US military intelligence officer Chelsea Manning was arrested and jailed for handing over the files to WikiLeaks.

The Americans alleged that Mr Assange directed and abetted Manning in stealing the files, when he tried to help her break a passcode to a Pentagon computer system.

Why was he in prison in the UK?

The WikiLeaks founder fled to Ecuador's embassy in London in 2012 while he was facing extradition to Sweden, where he was being investigated after a rape allegation was made against him two years earlier. Those allegations were eventually dropped.

He then battled extradition to the US since 2019 over the espionage changes and was held in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison in London.

Speaking before the March court hearing, his wife said: “It's important to have in mind that this has gone on for over five years and Julian has been in the UK's most notorious prison for this entire time.

“In fact, every day since the December 7, 2010, he has been in one form of detention or another.”

She claimed the legal process had been skewed in favour of the US, where officials have been “given endless chances to change their case, in order to get Julian extradited to face 175 years [in prison] for publishing evidence of US war crimes”.

Julian Assange through the years - in pictures

Celebrity case

Over the years, Mr Assange has been a magnet for celebrities as he became the focus of a fierce worldwide campaign promoting free speech and holding the US and its allies accountable for their actions.

During his time in the embassy he was visited by celebrities such as Pamela Anderson and Lady Gaga, while socialite Jemima Khan was at the forefront of donating millions of pounds for his legal fees.

But the Ecuadoreans began to tire of the circus surrounding him as he held forth to supporters from a balcony and they spent $66,000 a month on his security.

He was dragged from the embassy by police officers after his seven-year asylum was revoked and taken to Belmarsh.