June 25th 2024.
After spending years incarcerated, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks from Australia, has finally reached an agreement with the US Justice Department which has granted his release from prison in the UK. This marks the end of a lengthy legal battle that has spanned over a decade between Assange and the US government. Let's take a look at the key events that have led up to this long-awaited agreement.
It all began in 2006 when Assange founded Wikileaks. The following year, the organization made headlines when it leaked the procedures manual for Camp Delta, the US detention center in Guantánamo Bay. However, it wasn't until 2010 when things really started to heat up. In April of that year, Wikileaks released a video showing a US military helicopter attacking and killing two journalists and several Iraqi civilians. The military claimed they believed the targets were armed insurgents, but it was later revealed that they were actually civilians.
In the months that followed, Wikileaks continued to make waves by releasing classified documents related to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as well as diplomatic cables from US embassies. However, in August of 2010, Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange based on allegations of sexual assault. The warrant was later rescinded, but the charges remained.
In October of that year, Wikileaks published even more classified military documents, this time related to the Iraq war. This was followed by an international arrest warrant being issued by the Stockholm Criminal Court in November. Despite facing legal troubles, Wikileaks continued to reveal sensitive information, including details on the treatment of detainees at the US Navy's detention facility in Guantánamo Bay.
Meanwhile, the legal battle against Assange continued. In December of 2010, he turned himself in to London authorities and was released on bail, only to be put on house arrest. In February of 2011, a judge ruled in favor of his extradition to Sweden, leading to a series of appeals and court hearings.
In May of 2012, the British Supreme Court denied his appeal, but granted him two weeks to file another appeal. This was an unusual move as rulings are typically considered final. However, Assange decided to seek political asylum and on June 19, 2012, he entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London. After two months of deliberation, Ecuador granted him asylum on August 16, 2012.
Despite being confined to the embassy, Assange continued to make public appearances. In September of 2012, he delivered a speech via satellite to the United Nations, calling for an end to the US government's actions against him and Wikileaks. That same year, he also published a book titled "Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet."
As the years went on, the cost of guarding Assange at the embassy continued to rise, reaching more than 10 million pounds. In 2015, the Swedish Supreme Court denied his appeal to dismiss an arrest warrant for allegations of sexual assault. And in 2016, a UN rights working group found that he was being arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the UK.
Despite facing numerous legal battles, Wikileaks continued to make headlines, particularly during the 2016 US presidential election when it published thousands of emails from Democratic National Committee staffers. Assange even went on CNN to discuss the timing of these releases.
However, things took a turn in September of 2016 when Wikileaks tweeted that Assange was willing to serve prison time in the US in exchange for clemency for Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who was convicted of stealing and disseminating 750,000 pages of documents and videos to Wikileaks.
And now, after years of legal battles and confinement, Assange has finally reached a plea deal with the US Justice Department, allowing him to walk free from prison in the UK. This marks the end of a long and complex legal saga that has captivated the world for over a decade.
After spending years in prison, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks from Australia, has finally reached a plea deal with the US Justice Department. This has resulted in his release from prison in the UK. The deal, which is expected to be finalized in the coming days, brings an end to a lengthy legal battle that has spanned over a decade.
Let's take a look at the key events that have led up to this agreement. In 2006, Assange founded Wikileaks and in 2007, the website posted the procedures manual for Camp Delta, the US detention center in Guantánamo Bay. However, it wasn't until April 2010 that things really took off for Wikileaks. They released a video showing a US military helicopter firing on and killing two journalists and several Iraqi civilians in 2007. The military claimed that the helicopter crew believed the targets were armed insurgents, but this was not the case.
From there, Wikileaks continued to release classified documents, including over 90,000 related to the Afghanistan war in July 2010 and documents related to the Iraq war in October of that same year. However, in August of 2010, Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange based on allegations of sexual assault. The warrant was rescinded the next day, but the legal battle had already begun.
Assange was questioned by Stockholm police in August and on October 22, 2010, Wikileaks published classified military documents related to the Iraq war. The following month, on November 20, 2010, the Stockholm Criminal Court issued an international arrest warrant for Assange. Despite this, Wikileaks continued to release more classified information, this time diplomatic cables from US embassies on November 28, 2010.
In December 2010, Assange turned himself in to London authorities and was put on house arrest after being released on bail. However, in February 2011, a judge ruled in favor of his extradition to Sweden, leading to a long legal battle. In April 2011, Wikileaks released more classified military documents, this time revealing details on the behavior and treatment of detainees at the US Navy's detention facility in Guantánamo Bay.
In September 2011, Wikileaks released its archive of over a quarter million US diplomatic cables, and in November, the UK Judicial Office announced that Assange had applied to take his appeal against extradition to Sweden to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In May of 2012, the British Supreme Court denied his appeal, but granted him two weeks to file another appeal, which was an unusual move as rulings are typically final.
In June 2012, Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he requested political asylum. After two months, his request was granted, and on August 19, 2012, he addressed the public from the balcony of the embassy, demanding that the United States drop its "witch-hunt" against Wikileaks. He continued to speak out against the US government, even delivering a speech via satellite to the United Nations in 2012.
In the years that followed, Assange's book, Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet was published, and in 2015, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe expressed concern over the cost of guarding Assange at the embassy. Despite this, in May of that year, the Swedish Supreme Court denied his appeal to dismiss an arrest warrant for allegations of sexual assault.
In July 2015, France rejected Assange's request for "protection" after he published an open letter in a national newspaper. The following month, Swedish prosecutors dropped some of the allegations against him, but the charge of suspicion of rape still remained. In 2016, a UN rights working group found that Assange was being arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the UK.
Despite this, in July 2016, Wikileaks published thousands of emails from Democratic National Committee staffers, leading to accusations of favoring a specific candidate during the US presidential primary. Assange also made headlines when he agreed to serve prison time in the US in exchange for clemency for imprisoned former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
Finally, in September 2016, a Swedish appeals court stated that the arrest warrant for Assange still stood, marking the eighth time it had been tested in a Swedish court. With all eight judgments ruling against him, Assange's legal battle seemed never-ending. But now, with the plea deal, it appears that a resolution has been reached, and Assange can finally walk free from prison.
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