Shortly before her husband landed in Canberra, Mrs Assange revealed that he wants to swim in the ocean every day and teach their children to catch crabs now that he is back in Australia.
Julian Assange has kissed his wife Stella as he arrived in his native Australia as a free man after a US judge wished him 'an early happy birthday' before releasing him.
Judge Ramona V Manglona told Assange after wrapping up the case: 'With that... Mr Assange it's apparently an early happy birthday to you. I hope you will start your new life in a positive manner.' Ms Assange appeared on The Project on Wednesday night shortly before her husband touched down in Canberra.
Read More Julian Assange's wife reveals what freed Wikileaks founder is looking forward to most in Australia Speaking from Australia, Mrs Assange added: 'It is hard to believe that Julian has been in prison for so long. It had become normalised. I am grateful to the people who made this possible but I am also angry that it ever came to this.A plea deal with American prosecutors paved the way for Assange to return home without fear of arrest after 14 years as a wanted criminal suspect.
Assange was wanted for espionage since 2010 after WikiLeaks released thousands of classified US military documents, and for unrelated rape charges in Sweden. After discussion with Assange's lawyer Barry Pollack and US Attorney Matthew McKenzie, she decided against either and let him walk out a free man.
But President Joe Biden's decision to reach a plea deal with Assange has been slammed as a 'miscarriage of justice' by former vice president Mike Pence. WikiLeaks shared a photo of Assange hugging his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, earlier today with Australia's ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, in the background.
He was driven directly to the airport where he flew out on Flight VJT199, which departed at 1pm on Wednesday, local time. The WikiLeaks founder wore a suit and tie as he arrived at the US District Court about 8am local time on Wednesday , ahead of the hearing Manglona began deliberating on Assange's sentence, which could include a one to five year probation, and a fine of US$15,000 to US$150,000.
In 2012, as authorities circled him for that and over 'credible and reliable' sex crime allegations from a woman in Sweden, he fled into London's Ecuadorian embassy where he remained for seven years in often farcical circumstances. The release from Belmarsh - where he has spent five years, largely in solitary confinement, fighting extradition - comes days ahead of his 53rd birthday on July 3.
Assange's wife Stella said her relief at his release was coupled with anger that he had spent so long in prison. Read More Julian Assange is banned from US after pleading guilty to espionage in exchange for his freedom But while Assange's allies claimed this was a victory for press freedom, sources told the Telegraph the Biden administration simply 'threw in the towel' as it did not believe a Labour government would extradite him.
He said recent court hearings in the UK had given him hope that the 'tide was turning' in his son's favour, as well as increasing pressure from the Australian government. July: Wikileaks starts releasing tens of thousands of top secrets documents, including a video of U.S. helicopter pilots gunning down 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007. What followed was the release of more than 90,000 classified US military files from the Afghan war and 400,000 from Iraq that included the names of informants.
He was questioned by police in Stockholm and denied the allegations. Assange was granted permission by Swedish authorities to fly back to the U.K. April: Lenin Moreno becomes the new president of Ecuador who was known to want to improve diplomatic relations between his country and the U.S. November: U.S. Justice Department inadvertently names Assange in a court document that says he has been charged in secret.January: Assange's lawyers say they are taking action to make President Trump's administration reveal charges 'secretly filed' against him.
April - Stella Moris, Assange's partner, who gave birth to his two children while he was living inside the Ecuadorian embassy, issues a plea for his release amid fears for his health.
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