Julian Assange’s wife spoke to the BBC about her elation after the Wikileaks founder agreed to a plea deal. The deal will see Assange plead guilty to one charge and be released. Stella, his wife, expressed happiness at the news, although she stated that the deal had been uncertain at times. She mentioned that they were unsure if the deal would actually happen until the last 24 hours before his departure.
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. Despite this, Assange will not spend any time in US custody and will receive credit for the time spent in UK prison.
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.