Kevin Rudd was seen by Julian Assange’s side as he landed for his court appearance on a Pacific island following a 14-year legal battle.
The 52-year-old arrived in Saipan, the capital of the US-owned Northern Mariana Islands, around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday.
Assange agreed Tuesday to plead guilty to a single criminal charge of conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents, according to court documents.
The WikiLeaks founder was accompanied by Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the United States, who accompanied Assange to the US District Court.
Both were seen wearing black suits, Assange wearing a loose brown tie, as they entered the building.
Both Assange and Rudd appeared relaxed and smiled as they made their way past the waiting camera crews.
Assange had arrived on a private jet also carrying his team, including Australia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith.
He will be sentenced for time served this morning at a hearing in a courtroom about 3,500 kilometers from Darwin.
Kevin Rudd was seen by Julian Assange’s side as he landed for his court appearance on a Pacific island following a 14-year legal battle.
An updated court document states that Assange has been summoned to the third floor of the District Court.
There is one charge listed: conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States, in violation of 18 USC section 793(g).
Another court document states that U.S. Department of Justice officials “anticipate that the defendant will plead guilty to the charge.”
Once the process is complete, Wikileaks and his family say Assange will be free to return to Australia, which could be as early as Wednesday night.
He had spent five years in a maximum security prison in London’s Belmarsh prison and seven years in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in the United Kingdom.
For Assange’s supporters, it is a moment of jubilation.
“It’s a huge victory for freedom of expression and also for justice,” Greg Barns, SC, legal adviser to the Australian Assange Campaign, told AAP.
Assange and Rudd are seen entering the US District Court in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific.
“Julian faced the prospect of spending more than 170 years in a US prison if he had been convicted of the charges for which the Americans sought to extradite him.”
But former Australian high commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, who served while Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, said he doubted Australians had any sympathy for him.
“What he did was a criminal offence, and it was a terrible thing, morally too, to endanger people’s lives in that way,” he told the BBC.
Australia had long called for the United States to end its pursuit of Assange, who was facing espionage charges.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had raised the issue directly with US President Joe Biden and a group of politicians from across Australia’s political spectrum converged on Washington in September to put pressure on US decision-makers.
“Whatever opinions people have about Mr. Assange’s activities, the case has dragged on too long,” Mr. Albanese said.
Assange’s family are relieved at his release, with his father, John Shipton, praising the Australian government for its efforts to end the “persecution” of his son.
The couple appeared relaxed as countless media crews waited outside the courthouse.
“I’m absolutely elated, it’s like a huge burden has been lifted from me,” he told the Palestinian Authority news agency.
Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, said his release showed “the importance and power of silent diplomacy.”
“Many have used my son’s situation to push their own agendas, so I am grateful to those hard-working, invisible people who put Julian’s well-being first,” she said.
“The last 14 years have obviously taken their toll on me as a mother.”
Assange’s wife, Stella, said that while there was uncertainty about the situation that led to her husband’s release from prison, she was “elated” by the developments.
Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton told Reuters that for “millions of people who have been defending Julian, it’s almost time to have a drink and celebrate.”
Meanwhile, Mrs Assange late on Tuesday night made a public appeal for donations to pay the US$520,000 (about A$783,000) fee for the plane to bring her husband home.
