Julian Assange’s four words to PM after he steps foot on Australian soil for the first time in 15 years
Julian Assange spoke to Anthony Albanese after arriving in Australia for the first time in 15 years, here’s what he said.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, “you saved my life”, when the two spoke for the first time.
Mr Assange’s arrival in Australia brought to an abrupt end a bitter and protracted legal saga lasting more than a decade that centred on the release of hundreds of thousands of classified and unfiltered US state department documents.
Touching down at Canberra Airport on Wednesday evening at 7.37pm local time, Mr Assange, who travelled to his home country via a crowd-funded private jet marked VJT199, was greeted by a throng of waiting media and a small group of supporters.
The 52-year-old had been pursued by US authorities for 14 years, but brokered a plea deal which saw him convicted in return for his freedom.
After stepping off the plane at Canberra Airport, Mr Assange headed straight toward his wife, 40-year-old lawyer Stella Assange who is the mother of his two sons, Gabriel and Max.
“YOU SAVED MY LIFE”
Mr Assange’s lawyer Jennifer Robinson said her client had told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, “you saved my life”, when the two spoke for the first time.
“I don’t think that is an exaggeration,” she said.
Ms Robinson told media her client is “absolutely delighted” to arrive home following “long and complex” negotiation with the government.
She said the development was a “huge win” for Australia and showed that Mr Albanese had “stood up to our ally”, the US.
“That Julian came home today is the product of 14 long years of legal battles, political advocacy and ongoing campaigning — not just by us, but by so many people in this community,” she said.
Ms Robinson said the guilty plea deal means Mr Assange will spend no more time in prison.
“In order to win his freedom, Julian pleaded guilty to conspiracy to committing espionage for publishing US war crimes, human rights abuses and wrongdoing around the world,” she said.
She blasted what she called the “criminalisation of journalism” in her remarks.
“It’s important that journalists all around the world understand the dangerous precedent that this prosecution has set,” she said.
Mr Albanese later tweeted a picture of himself on the phone with the caption: “Earlier tonight I was pleased to speak with Julian Assange to welcome him home to his family in Australia.
“His arrival home ends a long-running legal process.I want to express my appreciation to the United States and the United Kingdom for their efforts in making this possible.
“As Prime Minister, I have been clear – regardless of what you think of his activities, Mr Assange’s case had dragged on for too long. I have clearly and consistently – at every opportunity and at every level – advocated for Mr Assange’s case to be concluded.”
The post drew critiscim, with Liberal frontbencher saying the call was “neither necessary nor appropriate”.
“Julian Assange was not wrongfully detained like Cheng Lei, Sean Turnell or Kylie Moore-Gilbert. For 12 years Assange chose to avoid facing justice in countries with fair judicial systems. He is underserving of this treatment.”
ASSANGE’S NEXT MOVE
Ms Assange was emotional on Wednesday while she appeared on The Project and asked about what her husband’s plans were.
“He wants to go swimming in the ocean every day and he wants to teach our children how to catch crabs,” Ms Assange said.
“I think he wants to go to the beach.”
She told the panel of hosts she cried “happy tears” upon Mr Assange’s release, saying she “couldn’t quite believe it”.
While she was sad she wasn’t there, Ms Assange said she had been preparing her son’s to see their father for the first time outside prison.
“I’ve been talking about the many things that we’ll do when he comes home,” she said.
“That we’ll go to Australia together and when we go to Australia, it will be when daddy is there.”
She acknowledged it would take time to get used to knowing her husband out of confinement and restrictions.
Ms Assange said the restrictions had become “internalised”, saying her husband needs “space and time” to process.
When asked what the first thing her husband said to her, she said it was that he missed her.
“That he missed me and he couldn’t wait to see me later tonight and all the things that we’re going to do over the next few days, weeks,” she said.
“OVERCOME BY EMOTION”
In a tiny conference room in Canberra’s East Hotel, well in excess of a hundred journalists, photographers and supporters of Mr Assange gathered to hear from members of his legal team as well as his wife.
But rowdy supporters continued to attempt to charge inside the room, demanding they could also hear from the group.
Ms Assange admitted she was “overcome by emotion” at the moment she embraced her husband on the tarmac in Canberra.
“There were crowds cheering, that I didn’t even know were there, behind a fence, because it was dark,” she said.
“And then I heard them cheer more and there were flashes.
“And then I turned the corner and then I saw that Julian was coming.
“And we embraced and I mean, I think you’ve seen the pictures.”
Ms Assange held back tears as she reflected on her husband’s freedom after 14 years in prison and what his future might look like going forward.
She said her husband wanted to be there in person to thank everyone, but he needed some time alone.
“Julian needs time to recover,” she said.
“To get used to freedoms. Someone told me yesterday who had been through something similar, that freedom comes slowly.
“And I want Julian to have that space to rediscover freedom, slowly.
“Julian should never have spent a single day in prison. But today, we celebrate, because today, Julian is free.”
“HE WILL BE PARDONED”
Mr Assange released classified material on Wikileaks about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, in some cases in raw or unredacted form.
The US Department of Justice said on Tuesday his actions had put the lives of human rights advocates and journalists at risk.
Wikileaks published material from the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 US Presidential election, which is widely thought to have caused embarrassment to the Hillary Clinton campaign and boosted the prospects of her opponent Donald Trump.
On Wednesday night, Ms Robinson defended those actions.
“There’s clearly public interest in the DNC materials released by Wikileaks and in terms of the legality of the publications, there’s a US court decision showing that it had the highest possible protection of the first amendment,” she said.
Ms Assange called on the press to call for Mr Assange’s pardon, saying his admission of guilt set a dangerous precedent for journalism.
“I think that he will be pardoned if the press unite to push back against this precedent,” she said.
“Because it affects all of you. It affects your future ability to warn the public and to publish without fear.”
7.37PM ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA
Pressed up against the fence, hundreds watched on as Mr Assange’s plane taxied across the runway.
Australian Border Force officials entered the plane to greet the WikiLeaks founder, ensuring he cleared customers before stepping foot on Australian soil and ending his journey home.
A RAISED FIST FOR FREEDOM
Stepping foot onto Australian soil, Mr Assange raised his fist to a large crowd who cheered him on, before he made the short walk across the tarmac to cheers from his supporters.
Mr Assange gave a triumpant wave, before embracing his wife, Stella Assange, who has relentlessly campaigned for his release.
Ms Assange shared a one-word tweet to X to celebrate her husband’s return.
“Home,” she wrote, accompanying a photo of the pair embracing.
Mr Assange then greeted other family members before again turning to the crowd and waving with cheers ringing out across the runway on a chilly Canberra evening.
He then embraced his father before giving another wave to the crowd.
Home. pic.twitter.com/OZAcXloxiP
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) June 26, 2024
It is the first time Mr Assange has been in Australia in 15 years.
About 40 minutes after landing, Mr Assange departed the Canberra Airport precinct.
Driven in a black Mercedes Sprinter and accompanied by a police escort, he waved from the front passenger seat while his wife and father were seated in the rear of the vehicle.
Moments earlier, US ambassador Kevin Rudd also departed the airport.
Ms Assange arrived at the East Hotel, where WikiLeaks is expected to speak to media.
She was emotional but told reporters she and her husband had a “private moment” when they reunited.
Mr Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton was live on the ABC reacting to his brother’s arrival in Australia, wiping a tear and raising a fist when he saw his brother walk off the plane.
“I don’t think it would have happened without the support of the government. And I wholeheartedly, wholeheartedly agree with the Prime Minister, that standing up for Australians is so, so important,” Mr Shipton said.
A PLEA DEAL
The WikiLeak’s founder on Monday entered a plea deal with US prosecutors after attempt to evade extradition to the United States for more than a decade over allegations
Having left the United Kingdom’s Belmarsh Prison on Monday after he was granted bail by the UK High Court, Mr Assange immediately boarded a private jet at Stansted Airport.
The 52-year-old then flew to Saipan, a self-governing US territory located in the western Pacific, about 2400km east of the Philippines, where he fronted a US Federal Court on Wednesday morning.
There he pleaded guilty to a single felony of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information, a violation under the US Espionage Act, an agreement that spared him further time in imprisonment.
“GOT THIS DONE”
Speaking on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose government had engaged in significant diplomatic efforts to secure Mr Assange’s freedom, said he was the first person to speak with Mr Assange when his plane hit the tarmac.
“Earlier tonight, I was pleased to speak with Mr Assange, to welcome him home, to ask about his health and to have my first discussion with him,” he said.
“As I have said, both as Labor leader and as Prime Minister, there was nothing to be gained by the further incarceration of Mr Assange and we wanted him brought home. That has happened.
“We have got this done.”
The Prime Minister said while people might hold different views about Mr Assange’s actions, he would always “stand up” for Australian citizens.
“I believe in standing up for Australian citizens,” he said.
“The Australian government stands up for Australian citizens, that’s what we do.”
Mr Albanese said Mr Assange’s return to Australia was the result of “strategic, calibrated and patient” diplomatic work from a range of actors, including former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and High Commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith.
“One of the things that my government does is at times as well, we don’t shout, we’re not in a contest of machismo, what we do is we get things done,” he said.
The Prime Minister said Mr Assange had referred to Australia’s diplomatic corp as the “A Team”.
He said the saga would not damage relations with the United States, Australia’s most important ally.
14 YEARS OF LEGAL WOES
Mr Assange’s legal woes commenced in 2010 after WikiLeaks released thousands of classified US military documents and diplomatic cables which covered the United State’s actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s which were obtained by US Army analyst Chelsea Manning.
Collaborating with media outlets, Mr Assange shot to international prominence and was celebrated as an advocate of radical government transparency among proponents of press freedom who argued he acted to reveal military wrongdoing.
But DOJ prosecutors, who argued the actions risked the country’s national security, subsequently charged Mr Assange over the leaks, alleging he had violated the Espionage Act, accusing him of conspiring with Ms Manning by assisting her to break into a Defence Department computer.
The documents released included the un-redacted names of individuals who were placed at “grave and imminent risk”, including Iraqi informants, DOJ prosecutors claimed.
Lawyers for Mr Assange argued that he had merely distributed the classified documents rather than actively sought to obtain them, a protection afforded to journalists under the US’ First Amendment of free speech.
Mr Assange has spent more than a decade in an at times bizarre attempt to evade extradition to the United States where he faced trial.
Initially pursue in 2010 by Swedish authorities who sought his arrest on rape allegations that he denied and were later dropped, Mr Assange initially cooperated with British police regarding the matter but later accused the charges as a pretext for his extradition.
After exhausting his legal options, Mr Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he was unable to leave as he would face arrest by British police.
Earlier tonight I was pleased to speak with Julian Assange to welcome him home to his family in Australia. pic.twitter.com/r0Yl3iJtdb
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) June 26, 2024
There he conceived his two children with wife Stella Assange, and hosted celebrities including Pamela Anderson and Lady Gaga.
But after seven years Mr Assange ultimately outstayed his welcome, angering embassy officials by skateboarding in the hallways, not cleaning up his cat’s mess, and refusing to pay for internet use and laundry facilities.
He was subsequently arrested by British police and charged with breaching his bail conditions, leaving him imprisoned in a high security prison for five years.
While a UK court initially ruled in favour of Mr Assange’s request not be extradited to the US, that ruling was successfully appealed by the DOJ.
Earlier this year, a London court granted Mr Assange a right to appeal the extradition order, further extending the long running legal fight.
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