Julian Assange Accepts Guilty Plea in US Espionage Case
WikiLeaks Founder Faces Reduced Charges
Assange to Return to Australia After Guilty Plea
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of illegally obtaining and disclosing classified information. The plea deal comes after Assange spent many years imprisoned in a British prison and will allow him to return to his home country of Australia.
The US government had indicted Assange on 17 charges under the Espionage Act, but the deal reduces the number of charges to one. The Justice Department made the decision to reduce the charges in exchange for Assange's guilty plea and agreement to cooperate with investigators.
Assange's attorneys maintain that he is a journalist and should not be prosecuted for publishing classified information. They argue that the Espionage Act is being used to target whistleblowers and suppress freedom of the press.
The plea deal is a significant development in the long-running legal battle between Assange and the US government. It is unclear what will happen next in the case, but it is possible that Assange will be sentenced to prison time.
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