Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, has been released from a British prison following a plea deal accepted on June 24, 2024. Assange, 52, had been incarcerated at Belmarsh High Security Prison in London since 2019 and previously spent nearly seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition. Under the agreement with U.S. federal prosecutors, Assange will plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge related to the publication of classified U.S. military documents in 2010. This deal allows Assange to return to Australia after a court appearance in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, on June 26, 2024. The U.S. Justice Department has stated that the 62-month sentence will credit Assange’s time already served. Assange faced 18 charges and a potential sentence of up to 175 years in prison but will now return home a free man pending judicial approval of the deal.