Julian Assange released from prison after reaching plea deal with US

Julian Assange has been released from prison on bail and will return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the US government over his WikiLeaks disclosures. Papers filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific Ocean, on Monday revealed Mr Assange will plead guilty to one felony charge in exchange for his immediate freedom. The US Justice Department has agreed to drop 18 espionage charges against him – instead charging him only with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information. Under the terms of the deal, the journalist will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, but the five years he has already spent incarcerated in HMP Belmarsh in the UK will count against that period. The agreement must be approved by a federal judge before it can take effect. Read more here: #assange #freedom #usa