"I want to express my appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom for their efforts in making this possible.
As a result, Julian Assange was banned from returning to the United States without permission, according to the US Justice Department .
The release of the classified video led to the arrest of Bradley Manning, a US military specialist, in June.
Subsequently, in July, WikiLeaks disclosed over 91,000 documents, primarily consisting of confidential US military reports pertaining to the war in Afghanistan.
This was followed by the release of approximately 400,000 classified US military files in October, which detailed the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009
A day after Julian Assange landed in his home country of Australia as a "free man" following a decade-long legal battle, his wife revealed that the WikiLeaks founder plans to enjoy his return to normalcy by taking a dip in the sea, eating and tasting food he was deprived of during his captivity, and getting proper rest to recover, according to CNN.His wife, Stella Assange, urged people to give him space to "rest and recover." “He is just savoring freedom for the first time in 14 years,” she said, adding that Julian Assange plans to "swim in the ocean every day, sleep in a real bed, taste real food, and enjoy freedom.”The 52-year-old arrived in his home country of Australia as a free man on Wednesday after pleading guilty to conspiracy in a US court in a deal that ended his years-long legal battle.Assange, who admitted to one felony count related to the publication of classified US military information, was welcomed by his family upon his arrival in Canberra, Australia.After his arrival in Canberra, PM Anthony Albanese, who welcomed the plea deal, also welcomed Julian Assange back to Australia. "I was pleased to speak with Julian Assange to welcome him home to his family in Australia," the Australian PM said on X.Expressing discontent over the issue not being expedited and the lack of progress for so long, the Australian PM thanked the US and UK for making his return possible."I want to express my appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom for their efforts in making this possible. As Prime Minister, I have been clear – regardless of what you think of his activities, Assange's case had dragged on for too long. This is the culmination of careful, patient, and determined work," he said.In the US court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a Pacific US territory, Assange admitted to revealing US defense secrets in a deal that unlocked the door to his London prison cell. As a result, Julian Assange was banned from returning to the United States without permission, according to the US Justice Department ."Opposition to traveling to the continental United States and that the Pacific territory is close to his home country of Australia, to which we expect he will return at the conclusion of proceedings," the US Department of Justice stated in a letter to the chief judge of the District Court.Assange pleaded guilty to "conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States" and was sentenced to five years and two months in prison, with credit for time already served in Britain.In April 2010, WikiLeaks published a video depicting a US helicopter attack in Baghdad from 2007, which resulted in the deaths of twelve individuals, including two journalists. The release of the classified video led to the arrest of Bradley Manning, a US military specialist, in June. Subsequently, in July, WikiLeaks disclosed over 91,000 documents, primarily consisting of confidential US military reports pertaining to the war in Afghanistan. This was followed by the release of approximately 400,000 classified US military files in October, which detailed the Iraq war from 2004 to 2009
