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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange looks out a plane window as he reportedly approaches Bangkok airport for a layover.
Assange to go free in plea deal
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a UK prison on Tuesday and is on his way to the remote Northern Mariana Islands, where he’s expected to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a plea deal with the US Justice Department. This will reportedly allow him to return to Australia as a free man.
A complex legacy. As the 16-year battle comes to a close, Assange will either be remembered as a champion for freedom of information or a dangerous vigilante.
In 2009, he conspired to use his WikiLeaks website to disclose tens of thousands of activity reports about US involvement in the Middle East in what was by far the largest leak of classified information in American history. Then. in 2016, Wikileaks released thousands of emails stolen by Russian hackers from the Democratic National Committee at the height of Hillary Clinton’s battle with Donald Trump for the US presidency in a leak credited with helping sink her candidacy.
After five years of court hearings, Assange has been charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information. He is expected to be sentenced to 62 months, with credit for time served in a British prison, meaning he would be free to return to his home country of Australia.
Why is Julian Assange in the news again?
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
What's left to sanction with Russia and have existing sanctions been effective?
There's very little left to sanction with Russia that the Americans and their allies want to sanction. I mean, you could try to cut off Russian oil exports to, say, India, but no one wants to do that because that would cause a global recession. Food, fertilizer, same thing. At the end of the day, the sanctions that the West can put on Russia without a massive impact to themselves and the world they've already put. But because Biden said there'd be hell to pay if anything happened to Navalny in jail and he's dead now, and it's pretty clear the Russians, the Kremlin killed him. That means they have to sound tough. But ultimately, the only thing that is changing Russian behavior is the provision of significant military support to the Ukrainians, and that is determined by US Congress going forward.
Is Israel preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza?
Certainly that is the case, and they've been very reluctant to allow significant humanitarian aid to get into Gaza. Their view is that a lot of that aid would be taken by Hamas, and there's very limited capacity to stop Hamas from doing it. It's terrorist organization. Most of the rest of the world says, yeah, even if that's the case, you've got a couple of million civilians in Gaza whose homes have been destroyed, who've been displaced, that have no other way to live unless you provide them with support. And in very short order, the principal danger to civilians in Gaza will be humanitarian and will not be the war. That's how bad the humanitarian crisis is getting, even though the war fighting continues to go on.
Why is Julian Assange in the news today?
Well, because he is facing one of his last opportunities to avoid extradition to the United States. He is in the UK right now. He's wanted on almost two dozen criminal charges by the United States in regard to he and his organization putting out classified material and diplomatic cables over ten years ago. Those are serious crimes from the United States. But supporters of Assange are all about, look, this is, you know, putting truth to power and shining a light on massive human rights abuses. And if it wasn't for Assange, people wouldn't know about those abuses. It's kind of the same thing people have been saying about Snowden. There is a massive political debate that we can't finish in 180 seconds, but that's why Assange is in the news. We will see what the high court rules.
That’s it for me and I'll talk to you all real soon.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at the Westminster Magistrates Court, after he was arrested in London, Britain April 11, 2019.
Assange vs. America, again
The legal saga of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange neared its end Monday as Britain's High Court considered his final appeal of a U.S. extradition request.
Facing 17 espionage charges and one for computer misuse over the 2010 publication of classified war documents, the Australian native asserts he acted as a journalist and is protected by the First Amendment. His supporters, including members of the Australian Parliament, have called for his release on legal and humanitarian grounds.
Why has this case dragged on so long? In 2012, Assange sought sanctuary in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on rape charges. In 2019, Ecuador revoked asylum, and UK authorities detained Assange in Belmarsh Prison for bail evasion. While Sweden retracted its sex crimes accusations, the US filed espionage charges in 2019 and sought Assange’s extradition — a move he has resisted, citing suicide risks and declining health.
If convicted, the 52-year-old Assange faces a possible 175-year sentence, though American officials claim the figure would be much lower. Assange’s spouse Stella argues the case is a political witch hunt, asserting, “If he’s extradited, he will die.”
What’s next? The UK court will hear the case for two days. If it greenlights extradition, Assange’s legal team may try to get an emergency injunction from the European Court of Human Rights.WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's father calls on Australia to bring him home
SYDNEY (AFP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's father on Sunday (April 14) called on Australia to bring his son home, saying he was shocked to see his son's condition after his arrest in London last week.