Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday he was “very satisfied” with the guilty plea agreement concluded by Julian Assange with the American justice system, which put an end to a legal “saga” of nearly 14 years.
“I am very pleased that on this occasion we have achieved a positive outcome that I think the vast majority of Australians were calling for,” Albanese told Australian MPs in Canberra.
Australians “will have different views on Mr. Assange's involvement and activities but they will be happy that this saga ends and that he can reunite with his family,” said the head of government.
The conclusion of the case against Julian Assange is the result of “careful, patient and determined work, work of which I am proud”, welcomed Mr. Albanese.
“I have repeatedly said there is nothing to be gained from his continued detention, and I am satisfied that he is on his way back to Australia.”
“Whatever your views on his activities, and they may be diverse, the case (targeting) Mr. Assange has dragged on for too long,” added Mr. Albanese.
Anthony Albanese confirmed that Australian Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, and Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith, are both accompanying Mr Assange on the plane carrying him Wednesday to Australia.
In accordance with an agreement reached with the courts, the Australian whistleblower and founder of WikiLeaks, accused of having published hundreds of thousands of confidential American documents in the 2010s, pleaded guilty to obtaining and disclosing information on national defense.
Julian Assange is a “free man” for American justice since a hearing held Wednesday at the American federal court in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands.
