Assange freed as part of plea deal: As it happened

Assange has arrived at the airport in Canberra after a six-hour journey from Saipan. He was met by his wife Stella, father John Shipton, as well as a crowd of supporters and journalists.

A group of supporters is celebrating Assange’s release outside the US consulate in Sydney.

Assange has boarded a flight from Saipan to Canberra, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has said. The flight will take six hours.

The US Department of Justice has released a lengthy press statement, detailing the charges against Assange and listing numerous classified documents published by WikiLeaks throughout the years.

According to the plea deal, “Assange is prohibited from returning to the United States without permission,” the DOJ said.

Assange has been sentenced to the time he already served in Belmarsh Prison, with no period of supervised release. Explaining the sentence, Judge Manglona said that she had taken into account Assange’s “14-year ordeal” beginning with his arrest in 2010, and the fact that “no personal victim” was harmed by his publication of classified documents.

”I understand your birthday is next week,” Manglona said to Assange after reading out the sentence. “I hope you will start your new life in a positive manner.”

Assange told the judge that he had believed that the First Amendment to the US Constitution protected him during the publication of classified material.

”I accept it’s a violation of the espionage statute,” he continued. “I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all the circumstances.”

Assange described himself as “a journalist” who “encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified.”

As part of his plea agreement, Assange is required to instruct WikiLeaks to destroy classified information stored on its servers or devices, the court has heard. US prosecutors told Judge Manglona that they are satisfied that Assange has done so. It is unclear whether WikiLeaks has complied or will comply with this instruction.

Assange has pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information. Asked whether he was ready to enter a plea, Assange replied “yes.” Asked whether he was pleading guilty or not guilty, he responded “guilty.”

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Judge Romana Manglona has entered the courtroom and Assange’s hearing has begun.

Sitting beside the WikiLeaks founder are Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, Australian Ambassador to the UK Stephen Smith, and Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson.

Stella Assange has shared a video of her husband arriving at the courthouse in Saipan. “I watch this and think how overloaded his senses must be, walking through the press scrum after years of sensory deprivation and the four walls of his high security Belmarsh prison cell,” she wrote on X.