(25 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bangkok – 25 June 2024
++NIGHT SHOTS++
1. Pan of plane carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange taxiing before take off
2. Pan of plane taking off
STORYLINE:
A plane carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday departed Bangkok for Saipan, where he will enter a plea deal with the U.S. government.
The chartered flight from London that Assange’s wife, Stella, confirmed was carrying her husband left Don Mueang International Airport on Tuesday evening.
Airport officials told The Associated Press the plane was scheduled to continue on to Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific, where Assange is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
He’s expected to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information, according to the U.S. Justice Department in a letter filed in court.
Assange is expected to return to his home country of Australia after his plea and sentencing.
The hearing is taking place in Saipan because of Assange’s opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court’s proximity to Australia, prosecutors said.
British judicial officials confirmed that Assange left the U.K. on Monday evening after being granted bail at a secret hearing last week.
The plea deal brings an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case of international intrigue and to the U.S. government’s yearslong pursuit of a publisher whose hugely popular secret-sharing website made him a cause célèbre among many press freedom advocates who said he acted as a journalist to expose U.S. military wrongdoing.
U.S. prosecutors, in contrast, have repeatedly asserted that his actions broke the law and put the country’s national security at risk.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/121c24ddb8db45dbb5a8bc984c02d76a
