Julian Assange returns to Australia after the end of his legal battle with the US

The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assangereturned to his native Australia on Wednesday aboard a charter plane, raising his fist in triumph to the cheers of his supporters, hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing US military secrets in a deal with the Justice Department. which puts an end to a long legal battle.

Assange told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a phone call from the airport in Canberra, the capital, that the Australian government’s intervention in the U.S. criminal case had saved his life, said Jennifer Robinson, Assange’s lawyer.

Assange hugged his wife, Stella Assange, and his father, John Shipton, who were waiting for him at the airport, but avoided the media at a press conference less than two hours after landing.

“Julian wants me to sincerely thank you all. He wanted to be here. But you must understand what he has been through. He needs time. He needs to recover, and this is a process.“Stella Assange told reporters.

Assange is accused of receiving and publishing hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic cables that included details of irregularities committed by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His activity earned him the support of press freedom activists, who praised his role in exposing military behavior that might otherwise have been hidden, and warned of a chilling effect on journalists.

Among the files released by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 attack by US forces from an Apache helicopter in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters reporters.

The years-long criminal case came to a surprise end in a most unusual setting, when Assange, 52, pleaded guilty in a US district court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. . The Pacific territory is relatively close to Assange’s native Australia and accommodated his desire to avoid setting foot on the continental United States.

Albanese said Assange told him in their phone call that he longed to play with his children, conceived while their father was in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years.

“He described it as a surreal and happy moment, landing here in our national capital, Canberra“Albanese told reporters at Parliament House. “I had a very warm dialogue with him this afternoon. “He was very generous in his praise of the efforts of the Australian government.”.

Attorney Robinson said that “he got very excited” when he heard Assange’s conversation with the prime minister.

“Julian thanked him and the team, and told the Prime Minister that he had saved his life. And I don’t think he exaggerated.”Robinson said.

At Assange’s hearings in British courts where he fought extradition to the United States, evidence was presented of his poor health and his possible risk of self-harm in the American criminal system.

On his flights he was accompanied by the Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, and the high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith, who played a key role in negotiating his freedom with London and Washington.

The flights were paid for by the “Assange team”said Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, adding that his government was involved in facilitating transportation.

Previously, Albanese said in Parliament that Assange’s freedom after five years in a British jail fighting extradition to the United States was the result of his government’s “careful, patient and determined work.”

It was not immediately clear where Assange would go from Canberra or what his future plans were. His wife and mother of his two children had been in Australia for days awaiting his release.

Another of Assange’s lawyers, Barry Pollack, hoped his client would continue his campaign.

“The work of WikiLeaks will continue and Mr Assange, I have no doubt, will be a continuing force for freedom of expression and transparency in government”Pollack told reporters outside the Saipan courthouse.