Julian Assange skips own press conference on return to Australia
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Julian Assange skipped his own press conference on Wednesday after arriving back in his native Australia at the end of a 14-year legal battle as his wife said he needed time to “recuperate”.
The WikiLeaks founder raised a clenched fist as he landed aboard a charter jet in Canberra, hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets in a deal with American prosecutors that finally ended the drawn-out legal saga.
Twelve years after he fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to the US, Assange gave his wife, Stella, a passionate kiss and embraced his father, John Shipton, who were both waiting for him on the tarmac.
He was then expected to appear for a much-anticipated press conference in a Canberra hotel but did not show up.
“Julian wanted me to sincerely thank everyone. He wanted to be here. But you have to understand what he’s been through. He needs time. He needs to recuperate, and this is a process,” Stella Assange, who has two young children with the whistleblower, told journalists. “I ask you please to give us space, to give us privacy, to find our place, to let our family be a family.”
Assange flew on a chartered jet from London to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory about 1,800 miles north of Australia.
The remote courtroom was chosen because of the 52 year-old’s unwillingness to go to the continental United States and because of its proximity to Australia.
During Tuesday’s hearing in the US Pacific territory, Judge Ramona Manglona wished an “early happy birthday” to Assange, who turns 53 next week. She said: “I hope you will start your new life in a positive manner.”
Assange faced a cumulative sentence of up to 175 years on charges connected to WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents supplied in 2010 by Chelsea Manning, a former US Army intelligence analyst who was later imprisoned for seven years before her sentence was commuted.
At the Saipan hearing, Assange formally pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act by publishing top-secret information about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
He was sentenced to the time he had already served in Belmarsh Prison in London – five years and two months – and given his liberty.
“It appears that your 62 months in prison is very reasonable and proportionate to Ms Manning’s actual prison time,” Judge Manglona told him.
In a phone conversation, Assange told Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, that Canberra’s intervention in the long-running case had saved his life, according to his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson.
Mr Albanese said he was the first person to speak to Assange, adding: “I can say when I spoke with Mr Assange tonight... he described it as a surreal and happy moment.”
“Regardless of your views about his activities – and they will be varied – Mr Assange’s case has dragged on for too long. I have said repeatedly that there was nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration.”
While the judge said there had been “no personal victim” in Assange’s crime, the US Department of Justice argued in a 1,161-word statement that he had endangered the lives of journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and political dissidents.
“Unlike news organisations that published redacted versions,” the statement said, Assange released “raw or unredacted” information that “placed individuals who had assisted the US government at great personal risk”.
The agreement that secured Assange’s release was the culmination of quiet diplomacy between Washington and Canberra in recent weeks. It was also seen as a test for Mr Albanese’s relationship with the US since his government came to power in 2022.
Well-wishers gathered at Canberra airport for Assange’s arrival.
Ross Perry, 75, a retired public servant, told The Telegraph: “He’s a rock star. Not even the footballers get to go to the VIP hangar. It’s good to see he’s back on home soil. I’d just like to give him a bit of support for all that he’s been through.”
A 23-year-old supporter named Lachlan said: “I’m here because he’s an Australian hero of mine and I want to show that he has support here at home. He’s certainly held in high regard by most Australians. It’s a very happy day for us.”
The controversial whistleblower’s release was hailed by Left-wing politicians across the UK, US and Australia.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, called Assange’s imprisonment “a grotesque miscarriage of justice” and said: “Never stop fighting for the truth. Never lose hope. Never, ever give up.”
But on the Right, Mike Pence, the former US Republican vice-president, said Assange’s release “dishonours the service and sacrifice” of military personnel.
James Paterson, the Australian shadow home affairs minister, said that “Julian Assange is no hero” but added that “it is a welcome thing that this has finally come to an end”.
“It is a credit to the United States that they are showing such leniency towards someone accused of such a serious crime.”
