President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) reacted, this Tuesday (25), to the release of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange.
“The world is a little better and less unfair today. Julian Assange is free after 1,901 days in prison”, wrote Lula in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“His release and return home, albeit belatedly, represent a democratic victory and victory for the fight for press freedom”, he concluded.
The world is a little better and less unfair today. Julian Assange is free after 1,901 days in prison. His release and return home, albeit belatedly, represent a democratic victory and the fight for press freedom.
— Lula (@LulaOficial) June 25, 2024
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a British prison and was returning to his home country of Australia on Monday after his 12-year battle against extradition to the United States ended in a judicial agreement.
The controversial figure spent the last five years in a maximum security prison in the United Kingdom and almost seven years before that hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, trying to avoid an arrest that could have led to life in prison.
On Monday, 52-year-old Assange agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge related to his alleged role in one of the largest breaches of confidential US government documents, after his whistleblower website published nearly half million secret military documents related to the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The plea deal ends a long legal saga, allowing Assange to avoid prison in the US and return to Australia a free man – but not before appearing in court in a remote US territory in the Pacific.
Assange boarded a flight from London’s Stansted Airport on Monday after being released on bail from prison, according to a WikiLeaks statement on Tuesday (25).
“Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks said. “He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of June 24, having spent 1,901 days there.”
Traveling with him on board the flight is Australia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith, the country’s prime minister said.
Under the terms of the deal, US Justice Department prosecutors will seek a 62-month sentence – which is equal to the time Assange served in the UK while fighting extradition.
The plea deal would credit time served, allowing Assange to immediately return to Australia. The agreement still needs to be approved by a federal judge.
Because Assange resisted setting foot on the U.S. mainland to enter his guilty plea, a judge will conduct the hearing and sentencing together on Wednesday in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a letter presented by prosecutors.
The Pacific island chain is a US territory about 6,000 kilometers west of Hawaii and a US federal district court is based in the capital Saipan. The islands are also closer to Australia, where Assange is a citizen and where he is expected to return after the hearing, prosecutors said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
