This deal resulted in his conviction for espionage, but also ensured his safe return to Australia. Assange, 52, had been relentlessly pursued by U.S. authorities for over a decade, following the release of thousands of classified military documents in 2010. His freedom comes after spending more than five years in a British high-security prison, following a seven-year stint in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, according to the Daily Mail.
During his time in captivity, Assange met his wife, Stella, a 40-year-old lawyer, with whom he secretly fathered two sons, Gabriel and Max. The couple shared a heartfelt reunion at Canberra Airport on Wednesday night. Mrs. Assange, in an interview with The Project prior to their reunion, shared her husband's anticipation of their life together post-release. "He wants to go swimming in the ocean every day and he wants to teach our children how to catch crabs... I think he wants to go to the beach," she said.
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Mrs. Assange expressed her joy and relief at her husband's release from a U.S. federal court on the Pacific island of Saipan, without any probation or supervision. "It was a moment of release. I couldn't quite believe it and I was also sad that I wasn't there," she added. She had been preparing their young children for their father's release, talking about the many things they would do once he was home.
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However, Mrs. Assange acknowledged that adjusting to life in the free world after years of restrictions and captivity would take time. "These kinds of restrictions, they really become internalized," she explained. "You need space. You need time. You need to process things. Someone yesterday said freedom comes slowly."
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While it might be too early to discuss a pardon for Assange, his wife insisted that his conviction for espionage sets a dangerous precedent. "(It) has criminalized standard journalistic activity and it has set a precedent that will be able to be used in the future against other members of the press," she added.
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Upon his arrival in Australia, Assange was greeted by his wife with a warm embrace. Mrs. Assange emphasized the need for her husband to have space to rediscover freedom following his incarceration. "Julian needs time to recover. To get used to freedoms," she said. "And I want Julian to have that space to rediscover freedom, slowly."
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Assange's criminal conviction for espionage means he is now banned from entering the U.S. He walked free from a U.S. federal court on the Pacific island of Saipan without probation or supervision, but he is banned from ever entering the U.S. again without permission from American authorities.
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Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted his guilty plea and debated whether to fine Assange up to $150,000 or order probation or supervised release. After a discussion with Assange's lawyer, Barry Pollack, and U.S. Attorney Matthew McKenzie, she decided against either and let him walk out a free man.
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"Given the factual basis that accounts the whole saga of events that constitutes the basis for this very serious espionage charge against you…I am in fact sentencing you to a period of time served," she said. "I am not imposing any period of supervised release."
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Assange had been a wanted man since 2010 when WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. military documents on Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - the largest security breaches of their kind in U.S. military history - along with swathes of diplomatic cables. In 2012, he sought refuge in London's Ecuadorian embassy to evade arrest for these charges and over 'credible and reliable' sex crime allegations from a woman in Sweden. He remained there for seven years until Ecuador revoked his asylum, leading to his immediate arrest and imprisonment in the UK while he fought extradition to the U.S.
The U.S. Government only counts the five years he spent in Belmarsh as being Assange's time served, but his lawyer argued the whole 14 years counted. As Assange embarks on his new life in Australia, the world watches to see how this precedent-setting case will impact future journalistic activities and press freedom.
