WikiLeaks says Julian Assange is ‘free’, has left UK

This screen shot courtesy of Wikileaks X page shows Assange (left) in London on June 24, 2024. Assange ‘is free’ and has been released from a high-security London prison where he was held for five years, his Wikileaks organisation said June 24, after reaching a US plea deal. The 52-year-old Australian was taken Monday, June 24, from Belmarsh prison to London's Stansted airport, a Wikileaks statement said, from where he boarded a flight to an unnamed destination. — AFP/Handout/WikiLeaks

WASHINGTON: Julian Assange was released from prison June 24 and has left Britain, WikiLeaks said, as he reached a landmark plea deal with US authorities that brought an end to his years-long legal drama.

"Julian Assange is free," WikiLeaks wrote on X of its founder, who had been detained in Britain for five years as he fought extradition to the United States which sought to prosecute him for revealing military secrets.