WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walks out of courtroom as free man after reaching plea deal in US

Washington, DC [US]: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked out of the courtroom in Saipan as a free man for the first time in 12 years after a US judge signed off on his plea deal on Wednesday morning (local time), CNN reported.

Assange walked out of the courtroom as a free man into the bright Saipan sunshine, raised one hand to reporters before leaving in his car for the airport, where he took a flight to the Australian capital Canberra.

Speaking outside the court, Assange's US lawyer, Barry Pollack, said Assange had "suffered tremendously in his fight for free speech and freedom of the press."

The 52-year-old Australian appeared in a US courtroom on the Northern Mariana Islands to formalise the agreement. He pleaded guilty to conspiring unlawfully to obtain and disseminate classified information over his alleged role in one of the largest breaches of classified material in US military history.

Asked by the judge, Ramona Manglona, to speak on what he had done to be charged, Assange responded, "Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information. I believe that the First Amendment protected that activity... I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all these circumstances."

In her sentencing, Ramona Manglona said Assange was entitled to credit for the time served for his incarceration at a prison in the UK. The judge said, "It appears that your 62-month imprisonment is fair and reasonable." She stated, "You will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man. I hope there will be some peace restored."

The judge told Assange that "timing matters" and she would have been less inclined to accept a plea 10 years ago. She further said that there was no personal victim in this case, Assange's action did not result in any known physical injury, CNN reported.

(ANI)