Assange, 52, arrived at the court in a white SUV with his team and the Australian Ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd. Dozens of media outlets from around the world gathered outside the courtroom to cover the proceedings.
Julian Assange appears outside the courthouse. Photo: AP
Assange has agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified U.S. defense documents, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
Prosecutors said the U.S. territory in the western Pacific was chosen because Assange opposed going to the American mainland and because it was close to Australia. Assange is expected to be sentenced to 62 months in prison, but will be released and return home to Australia.
The reason is that Assange, who was born in Australia, had already spent more than five years in a high-security prison in the United Kingdom. He also spent seven years hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to fight extradition to the United States.
Assange's supporters view him as a victim because he exposed the wrongdoings of the U.S. military and their crimes in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere.
Bui Huy (according to Reuters, CNN, AP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nha-sang-lap-wikileaks-nhan-toi-gian-diep-de-duoc-tra-tu-do-post300771.html
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