Julian Assange: WikiLeaks founder pleads guilty in US court

Assange agrees to plead guilty to one count of illegally obtaining and disclosing classified information

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty in a US court to a single count of illegally obtaining and disclosing classified information. The charge relates to his role in the publication of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables and military files in 2010.

Under the terms of a plea deal with the US government, Assange will serve a prison sentence of up to five years. However, he is likely to be released from custody immediately, as he has already served more than four years in prison in the UK.

Assange's guilty plea brings an end to a long-running legal saga that began with his arrest in 2010. He has been in prison in the UK since 2019, fighting extradition to the US.

The US government has accused Assange of aiding and abetting the theft of classified information. Assange has always maintained that he was acting as a journalist and that the publication of the classified files was in the public interest.

Assange's plea deal is a significant development in the case, and it is likely to have implications for other journalists who publish classified information.