WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge related to his alleged role in one of the largest US government breaches of classified material, as part of a deal with the Justice Department that will allow him to avoid imprisonment in the United States, according to newly filed federal court documents.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Justice Department prosecutors will seek a 62-month sentence – which is equal to the amount of time Assange has served in a high-security prison in London while he fought extradition to the US. The plea deal would credit that time served, allowing Assange to immediately return to Australia, his native country.
The plea deal must still be approved by a federal judge, but as of Monday morning, Assange had been released from a UK prison.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, said the case has “absorbed considerable time and resource from the criminal justice system over many years”.
He said the intended outcome of the plea agreement is “to accomplish the primary objective of delivering justice”, and that it will also save “continual substantial resource”.
