Le fondateur de WikiLeaks, accusé d’avoir divulgué des centaines de milliers de documents confidentiels, a accepté de plaider coupable dans le cadre d’un accord avec la justice américaine. Cet accord lui permettra de recouvrer sa liberté après cinq années de détention provisoire au Royaume-Uni

Julian Assange is about to be released. After being held since 2019 in a UK prison, the whistleblower has reached an agreement with the Biden administration, according to several US media including CNN and NBC.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Wikileaks founder has agreed to plead guilty before the US Department of Justice. In return, he will avoid extradition to the United States and could be sentenced to 62 months, corresponding to the time he has already spent in prison in England, as explained by CNN.

This agreement would allow Julian Assange to return immediately to Australia, his country of origin.

According to Wikileaks, Julian Assange has already left the UK. The NGO declared on social networks: “Julian Assange is free”.

This resolution puts an end to a saga that has lasted nearly 14 years, and comes just before a crucial hearing before the British courts scheduled for a fortnight from now. Assange was being prosecuted by the US for disclosing hundreds of thousands of confidential documents, notably on US military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2010 onwards.

He faced up to 175 years in prison under the Espionage Act, but recent developments appear to mark the end of a long legal battle that has made him a symbol for press freedom and the rights of whistleblowers.