Julian Assange agrees to plead guilty to espionage in deal with the US that will allow the WikiLeaks founder to end imprisonment in Britain and return home to Australia “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange” is expected to plead guilty this week to violating U.S. espionage law, in a deal that could end his imprisonment in Britain and allow him to return home to Australia.U.S. prosecutors filed criminal paperwork against Assange, 52, that is typically a preliminary step before a plea deal.
In the agreement, prosecutors will look for a 62-month sentence – the same amount of time Assange has served in a high-security prison in London while fighting extradition to the U.S. The plea deal still needs to be approved by a federal judge – but if approved, it would give him credit for time served, allowing Assange to immediately return home to his native Australia. The deal outlines a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified United States.
