Chelsea Manning

Public interest witness and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is now a “free man” after a court on Saipan Island today upheld his plea deal with the US justice system, ending a 14-year legal odyssey.

“You can walk out of this courtroom a free man,” Judge Ramona Manglona said after a brief session of the U.S. federal court on Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands.

The United States is contemplating dropping charges against Julian Assange, as confirmed by President Joe Biden, who stated that he is considering the request. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is currently in custody in Great Britain, awaiting a decision on whether he will be extradited to the United States.

The British government has ordered the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. WikiLeaks said it would appeal.

A British judge on Wednesday formally approved the extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face spying charges. The case will now go to Britain's interior minister for a decision, though the WikiLeaks founder still has legal avenues of appeal.

A British judge has rejected the United States' request to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to face espionage charges, saying it would be "oppressive" because of his mental health.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said on Jan. 4 Assange was likely to commit suicide if sent to the U.S.

The U.S. government said it would appeal the decision.

A federal judge on March 12 ordered the release of former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning from custody amid reports that the notorious WikiLeaks whistleblower had attempted suicide while in detention.

American actress Pamela Anderson urged more people to support Julian Assange after visiting the WikiLeaks creator in a London prison where he expects a hearing about the US request for extradition.

Harvard University on Sept. 15 withdrew a fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who was convicted of leaking classified data, after two top  intelligence experts distanced themselves from the school over the invite.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo says he thinks disclosure of America's secret intelligence is on the rise, fueled partly by the "worship" of leakers like Edward Snowden.

"In some ways, I do think it's accelerated," Pompeo told MSNBC in an interview that aired on June 24.

US soldier Chelsea Manning has been released from prison after serving seven years for leaking hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and military files to Wikileaks.
A US Army spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that she had left Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas.