A plane believed to be carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange landed in Bangkok on Tuesday, as he is on the way to enter a plea deal with the US government that will free him and resolve the legal case that spanned years and continents over the publication of a trove of classified documents. Assange, an Australian citizen, has received support from Canberra for a number of years, with the country’s government making repeated calls for the US to cease efforts to prosecute. Now, it appears Assange could finally be about to escape Washington’s attempts to charge him with breaches under the American espionage act.
The Wikileaks founder has always divided opinion and is seen by some as the figurehead of free speech, after he published documents which exposed wrongdoing by organisations, including governments and the US army. But in the US he has been declared an “enemy of the state” and to others he is viewed as a dangerous hacker who put people’s lives at risk. A litany of court cases and accusations, from espionage charges to sexual abuse claims, have followed Assange around for nearly 15 years.
Assange has been forced into hiding for many years to avoid extradition, while his wife, Stella Assange, has previously warned her husband “will die” if he is sent to the US. Here, ITV News explains how Assange went from a high-profile hacker to a prisoner. Even Assange’s childhood in Australia is shrouded in mystery and conspiracy.
His shock of white hair has led many.
