Julian Assange’s wife, Stella, spoke to the BBC about her joy after the Wikileaks founder agreed to a plea deal. The deal will see Assange plead guilty to one charge and be released. Despite some uncertainty throughout the process, Stella expressed happiness at the news that her husband would finally be able to leave British prison and return home.
Assange had been charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information after Wikileaks published secret US military records. He had been in a British prison for the past five years, fighting extradition to the US where he feared a lengthy sentence. However, Assange will not spend any time in US custody and will receive credit for the time spent in UK prison as part of the plea deal.
The plea deal is expected to be finalized in a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory, on Wednesday. Assange’s plane landed in Bangkok on Tuesday as he left the UK after agreeing to the deal. Assurances have been made that he will not face any further penalties after agreeing to plead guilty to the charge against him.
Stella said that she and her husband had been unsure if the deal would actually happen until the last 24 hours before his departure from London. She expressed relief that everything had worked out and that they could finally begin rebuilding their lives together now that Julian was free from prison once again
