TRANSCRIPT
A hero's welcome for Julian Assange.
"Welcome back Julian", "We love you Julian"
Returning to Australia after more than a decade either in custody, or holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, trying to avoid extradition.
Waving to reporters, but not speaking.
His wife, Stella Assange, says he needs time to recover.
"He wanted to be here, but you have to understand, what he's been through, he needs time, he needs to recuperate, and this is a process. I ask you please to give us space, to give us space, to give us privacy."
His longest serving lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, thanking his supporters.
"A global movement was created around Julian and the need to protect free speech. And it's that global movement that has led to his release today. I really want to thank everyone who has joined us in this fight, who have supported us along the way. Because without that support and the campaigning that's been done, we just wouldn't be in this position. Julian is incredibly grateful for the support that he's had from the Australian government and from the public here in Australia. And we're delighted that he's home. He's finally home."
For some, Julian Assange is a fearless campaigner for press freedom.
For others, he was reckless with classified information, possibly endangering sources.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese glad to see him return.
"Regardless of what you think of his activities, Mr Assange's case had dragged on for far too long. I have clearly and consistently, at every opportunity and at every level, advocated for Mr Assange's case to be concluded. I am very pleased that this saga is over. And earlier tonight, I was pleased to speak with Mr Assange, to welcome him home, and had the opportunity to ask about his health and to have my first discussion with him."
The saga began in 2006, with the launch of Wikileaks, a website to publish leaked documents provided to the company.
It escalated from 2010 onward, as SBS Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson explains.
"In 2010, the site published a classified video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed a dozen people. A month after publishing the video, Chelsea Manning who provided the video and other documentation to WikiLeaks was arrested. That year, around 750,000 classified US military documents and cables from embassies were published by Wikileaks. A warrant was issued for Assange's arrest for sexual assault allegations of two Wikileaks volunteer staffer in Sweden, eventually forcing him to flee to the United Kingdom."
After arriving in the UK, Assange was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant for the alleged sexual assaults in Sweden and released on bail.
He then sought asylum, as Anna Henderson reports.
"After an extradition warrant was issued, he turned to the Ecuadorian embassy for asylum. In 2016, Assange released emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hilary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, impacting the party's election campaign. The Ecuadorian Embassy kicked Assange out in 2019. UK police arrested Assange after he left the Embassy for breaching bail conditions. He remained in a UK prison fighting extradition to the United States until his release on the 24th of June 2024."
All charges against Assange for the alleged assaults in Sweden were dropped in 2019, with Swedish prosecutors saying the evidence was weakened significantly due to the time that had elapsed.
After his release from Belmarsh Prison in the UK, Julian Assange travelled to Saipan to appear in a US Court, pleading guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U-S national defence documents.
Based on the agreement made with the U-S court, Mr Assange was sentenced to 62 months of jail time, which he has already served during his incarceration in the U-K.
Liberal frontbencher Simon Birmingham says it wasn't appropriate for the Prime Minister to call Mr Assange to welcome him home.
"Julian Assange pleaded guilty in a United States court to charges under the US Espionage Act, and by nightfall he was welcomed home by the Australian Prime Minister. That just sends all of the wrong signals and is irresponsible and inappropriate of Anthony Albanese to welcome home Julian Assange on the same day he's pleaded guilty to US charges related to espionage."
