WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has arrived in his home country Australia to be reunited with his wife and children as a free man.
The 52-year-old landed in the capital Canberra on Wednesday after an extraordinary few days following his release from Belmarsh prison in London.
Assange was seen passionately kissing his wife Stella after stepping off a plane at the city’s airport.
The Wikileaks founder earlier held up a fist in the air to applause and shouts of “welcome home” from his supporters.
They could also be heard shouting “Thank you Julian” and “We love you Julian”.
Assange later hugged his father John Shipton before entering a Royal Australian Air Force base.
As it happened: Assange welcomed back to Australia
His freedom comes after he pleaded guilty to one count of espionage as part of a deal with US authorities.
Assange entered the plea in a court in the US territory of Saipan in the Pacific earlier today.
He was sentenced to time served – the 62 months he has already spent in Belmarsh prison – according to court documents.
The US dropped 17 other espionage charges against him.
Assange left the UK on Monday evening and flew to Saipan via Bangkok after the plea deal was signed on Wednesday 19 June.
The case began after American prosecutors alleged Assange put lives at risk when he helped former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files Wikileaks put online in 2010.
In the following years, a lengthy legal battle took place in the UK over his extradition to the US, which included him entering the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 and staying there until his detention in Belmarsh prison began in 2019.
Assange was also accused of rape and sexual assault against two women in 2010.
However, the statute of limitations expired on one of those allegations in 2015, while he was living in the Ecuadorean embassy, and the Swedish prosecutor dropped the rape investigation in 2017.
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Assange, left, speaks to his father John Shipton after arriving in Canberra. Pic: Reuters
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Assange release a ‘relief’
A news conference was held at the East Hotel in Canberra after Assange’s arrival back in Australia today but the Wikileaks founder did not attend.
Explaining why her husband was not able to attend, Mrs Assange said her husband would not speak publicly until a “time of his choosing” because he “needs to recuperate”.
She said: “Julian needs time to recover, to get used to freedom. You have to understand what he’s been through.
“He needs time, he needs to recuperate.
Mrs Assange also said she felt “overcome by emotion” after her husband stepped foot on Australian soil.
Asked if she believes Assange could be pardoned for his crime, she told those gathered: “I think he will be pardoned if the press unite to push back against this precedent.
“It affects all of you and your future ability to inform the public and publish without fear.”
Mr Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson told the news conference it was acknowledged in court today that there was “no evidence of any actual harm” caused by the leaks.
She says the public interest in publishing the information was “clear”, as it included evidence of war crimes, the extent of civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, and torture across the world.
“To suggest this is not in the public interest… I don’t understand the basis on which you could possibly suggest that,” she said.
