Julian Assange Released in Courtroom Plea Deal

On June 25, a U.S. court on the island of Saipan approved a deal that saw WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange released in exchange for a partial guilty plea, according to Reuters.

Assange admitted to charges of violating the U.S. Espionage Act. He was sentenced to 62 months in prison, which he had already served in the United Kingdom, and was released in the courtroom.

“As a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was allegedly classified for publication. I believed the First Amendment [of the U.S. Constitution] protected this activity, but I acknowledge the violation of the Espionage Act,” Assange stated.

Attorney Barry Pollack added that WikiLeaks will continue its work, and the site’s founder “will advocate for freedom of speech and government transparency.”

Following his release, Assange will travel to Australia, where his wife and two children await him. He is prohibited from entering the U.S. without prior permission.

After the journalist’s release from prison, the AssangeDAO token (JUSTICE) surged. The coin increased by 300% over the week, according to CoinGecko.

The project was launched in February 2022 to raise funds for the fight for the WikiLeaks founder’s freedom. AssangeDAO representatives stated that over 11,000 ETH (~$34 million) has been allocated for Assange’s legal defense. In total, the DAO raised 16,593 ETH.

On February 8,2022,we raised 16,593.05878 ETH for Julian,the funds provide a vast majority of support for his freedom!
it‘s an unprecedented great action,proves the blockchain can save people,$Justice token will expand more space!
cypherpunks,let’s unite! pic.twitter.com/O0IHhwElSi

— AssangeDAO (@AssangeDAO) June 25, 2024

A Long History

In 2006, Assange founded the non-profit organization and website WikiLeaks, which published confidential information obtained from sources.

The project gained significant attention in 2010 when Assange released materials from the U.S. State Department and Pentagon, including diplomatic correspondence and information on war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Soon after, U.S. authorities initiated an investigation against the journalist.

In 2012, while evading prosecution in the UK, he sought political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he lived for nearly seven years.

However, in 2019, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno revoked Assange’s asylum, citing a breach of the “international rule of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.”

Following this, British police arrested him and sent him to prison, where he spent five years awaiting a decision on extradition to the U.S. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Assange with multiple violations of espionage laws.

In total, he faced 18 criminal incidents, but ultimately admitted to only one. Theoretically, the journalist faced up to 170 years in prison.

In 2023, Assange appeared at a meeting in the non-profit metaverse Wistaverse of The Sandbox ecosystem, where a “rally” against his extradition took place.

In February 2022, digital artist Pak announced a collaboration with the WikiLeaks founder to launch an NFT line called Censored.