An Australian journalist and activist has been released from Belmarsh maximum security prison in London
The flight that took the founder of WilliLeaks, Julian Assange, who left the United Kingdom to the Northern Mariana Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, on Tuesday the 25th of this month, was the most tracked in the world. According to air monitoring website FlightRadar 24, flight VJT199 was the most watched by its users on Tuesday.
Assange must present himself to a North American court upon his arrival in the Northern Mariana Islands, a territory of the United States, as part of an agreement for his release. The 24-year-old WikiLeaks founder was released from Belmarsh maximum security prison in London, UK, on Monday, after five years behind bars.
He agreed to plead guilty to a charge related to the release of thousands of secret US government documents, in exchange for a 62-month prison sentence, which is exactly the length of time he spent in prison in the United Kingdom.
Therefore, after a US federal judge approves the agreement, Assange will be able to immediately return to Australia. The hearing is scheduled to be held in a court in the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday, the 26th of this month, and the cost of the trip is $500,000 (about 2.7 million Brazilian reals), according to Stella Assange, the activist’s wife.
“I am simply ecstatic. It is unbelievable. It seems unreal that he is free,” the lawyer said in an interview with the BBC, adding that the agreement would be made public once it is approved.
Our most tracked journey today: Founder @WikiLeaksJulian Assange is on his way to Saipan before returning home to Australia. https://t.co/GfWkcGmbfv pic.twitter.com/1yIfiB3FAv
– Flight Radar 24 (@flightradar24) June 25, 2024
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