Judge Ramona V. Manglona just recently confirmed that Julian Assange is to walk out of the US courtroom in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands a free man.
Assange was sentenced to 62 months time served as per the agreed plea deal between the US and Julian's team, the judge also confirmed this would be without any supervised release or fines/restitution imposed due to the fact that there were no personal victims or injuries as a result of the WikiLeaks drops (something already acknowledged in a US court before, but nonetheless is usually forgotten by those seeking to persecute journalists & whistleblowers). The US counsel also affirmed that barristers in the UK are forthwith retracting the extradition request for Assange (bout damn time).
While Assange didn't take questions after the hearing he did speak during it; notably while describing what he did (journalism) that he is pleading guilty to he stated:
"Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information. I believed the first amendment protected that activity but I accept that it was... a violation of the espionage statute."
He also added:
"I believe the first amendment and the espionage act are in contradiction with each other but I accept that it would difficult to win such a case given all the circumstances."
After the hearing, Assange's lawyers Barry Pollack and Jennifer Robinson noted how the persecution of Assange still sets a dangerous precedent, but also acknowledged the support Assange received and were thankful for that.
https://x.com/tatianaschild/status/1805802947106030086
https://x.com/kuamnews/status/1805795284817264712
It always bears repeating that Julian never should have been targeted & persecuted for the crime of journalism and exposing the powerful; but after listening to countless bootlickers in courtrooms over the course of the UK's kangaroo court, it was relieving to hear a judge acknowledge the draconian ordeal Julian had to endure for his journalism and let him go free. There is a dangerous precedent for journalism in place though as evidenced by the several years long war on WikiLeaks, the empire and its media apparatus's fervent quest overall in dilapidating effective journalism through violent and/or corrupt means, and of course the prosecution of Julian Assange that only just now finally reached an end in the district court of the Northern Mariana Islands. There is still much work to be done in this world of course, yet as I write this Julian's flight has just taken off and he is en route to home in Australia as a free man :).
(Photo: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)
Courtroom sources/additional reporting:
https://www.kuam.com/story/50950828/nmi-judge-to-assange-you-will-be-able-to-walk-out-of-this-courtroom-a-free-man
https://www.theguardian.com/media/live/2024/jun/26/julian-assange-live-news-wikileaks-founder-lands-on-us-island-of-saipan-for-district-court-sentencing?page=with:block-667b52ac8f0839bc2f0034d7&filterKeyEvents=false#liveblog-navigation