Canberra: Australia’s prime minister said on Wednesday he welcomed a petition to end the long-running legal saga of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Assange flew to Australia after spending more than five years in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison, fighting extradition to the US for leaking US state secrets.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament in Canberra: “I am pleased to take this opportunity to deliver the successful outcome that I believe most Australians want to see.”
In a plea deal, the 52-year-old Australian man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain and disseminate defense information and was sentenced to time served.
The legal drama takes place in the courtroom of the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Pacific region.
Albaner said the resolution of the Assange case was the result of “careful, patient and persistent work – work that I am proud of.”
The prime minister confirmed that the Australian Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, and the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, were both with Assange on the flight home.
