Julian Assange has arrived on the remote Pacific island of Saipan to plead guilty to espionage charges in a US court.
The 52-year-old Wikileaks founder touched down at Saipan International Airport in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory, two hours ahead of his scheduled hearing on Tuesday evening.
As part of a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, he is expected to admit to conspiring with army whistleblower Chelsea Manning to disseminate classified information, in exchange for avoiding further prison time.
Two SUVs were visible driving onto the airfield to pick him up and then leaving via a side gate.
Once formalized, the deal will put an end to more than a decade of legal struggles between the most powerful country on Earth and an activist publisher once condemned by Joe Biden as a “closer to a high-tech terrorist”.
Assange had previously served more than five years in a British prison for breaking bail conditions while under investigation by Swedish authorities for rape and sexual assault, which he has always denied.
The US court is expected to subtract those years in prison from his sentence, leaving him free to return to his wife and children in Australia.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
