Assange trifft in US-Außengebiet ein: Gerichtstermin zur Freiheitsvereinbarung

Assange in US-Pacific Territory for Court Appearance

Following his release from British custody, Julian Assange, the founder of the whistleblowing platform Wikileaks, has arrived in a US Pacific territory for a court appearance. The chartered plane carrying Assange landed on the island of Saipan early in the morning (local time), as reported by Wikileaks on the X platform.

Saipan, part of the Northern Mariana Islands and under US jurisdiction, is where Assange is scheduled to appear in court to finalize an agreement with US authorities that would ultimately lead to his release.

The deal became public knowledge with the release of US court documents, revealing that Assange is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully obtain and distribute classified documents, resulting in a sentence of just over five years in prison.

This duration corresponds to the time Assange has already spent in a high-security prison in London. Therefore, any additional incarceration in the US will be avoided, and the 52-year-old is likely to continue to his native Australia after the proceedings.

Allegations Against Assange

The US accuses Assange of collaborating with whistleblower Chelsea Manning to steal and release classified material on military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, putting the lives of US informants at risk.

Assange’s departure from custody in London and subsequent travel to Saipan via a chartered plane from the UK, with a stopover in Bangkok, went unnoticed by the public.