CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The nation’s capital has become the scene of fanfare overnight, as 52-year-old freedom of speech defender Julian Assange begins readjusting to life outside of a cell.
The WikiLeaks founder returned home to Australia a free man last night, after pleading guilty in a deal that ended his years long legal battle over charges related to exposing war crimes perpetrated by the US military.
Upon landing on Australian soil, Assange embraced his wife and father, before raising a clenched fist in salute to his cheering supporters.
“Free at last,” WikiLeaks said in a post on X.
These sudden developments in the 14 year journey to free Assange began on Monday, when he left custody in Britain, where he had spent more than five years in prison fighting extradition to the United States.
It is not certain what the US Government wanted to do with Assange, but given their track record in Guantanamo Bay, it was fair enough that his legal team feared the worst.
Assange flew on a chartered plane to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth north of Guam, where he pleaded guilty under the U.S. Espionage Act to a single criminal count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information, as part of a plea deal.
His guilty plea was the final chapter in a legal saga that began more than a decade ago, when he published a batch of classified documents that exposed the war-mongering of several governments.
Flanked by his tireless legal representative, Jen Robinson, and several Australian foreign diplomats including former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – Assange finally made it home, landing in Canberra last night.
As the national media and his supporters bubbled with excitement at a series of press conferences, Assange quietly disappeared frrom sight.
It can now be revealed by the Betoota Advocate that the Australian activist had snuck off to a low key pub in West Canberra, to indulge in a long-awaited counter meal.
“Oh gosh” said Assange, as he poured mushroom sauce of his Wednesday night special crumbed steak.
“I’ve waited 14 years for this”
“14 long years”
The proud North Queenslander exhaled after his first mouthful.
“Crikey” he said.
“That hits the spot”
“The kitchen staff at the Ecuadorian embassy tried their best, but they just couldn’t get this one right”
“And don’t get me started on that pommy jail slop”
Assange washed it down with a mouthful of post-mix coca-cola, and began to look around.
“Any pokies in this joint?”
