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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stops in Bangkok on his way to a US court and later freedom
BANGKOK (AP) — A plane believed to be carrying Julian Assange landed Tuesday in Bangkok, as the WikiLeak founder was on his way to enter a plea deal with the U.S. government that will free him and resolve the legal case that spanned years and continents over the publication of a trove of classified documents.
Chartered flight VJT199 landed after noon at Don Mueang International Airport, north of the Thai capital. It was unclear if the plane was only refueling or how Assange will continue traveling to Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific, where he will appear in court Wednesday morning local time.
Protesters hold placards in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
He’s expected to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense 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.
The guilty plea, which must be approved by a judge, brings an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case of international intrigue and to the U.S. government’s years-long 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. Investigators, by contrast, have repeatedly asserted that his actions broke laws meant to protect sensitive information and put the country’s national security at risk.
Attorneys for Assange haven’t responded to requests for comment.
In a statement posted on X, WikiLeaks said Assange boarded a plane and departed Monday after leaving the British prison where he has spent the last five years. WikiLeaks applauded the announcement of the deal, saying it was grateful for “all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom.”
“WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people’s right to know,” WikiLeaks said.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been lobbying for the United States to end its prosecution of Assange, told Parliament that an Australian envoy had flown with Assange from London.
“Regardless of the views that people have about Mr. Assange’s activities, the case has dragged on for too long. There’s nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia,” Albanese added.
The deal ensures Assange will admit guilt while also sparing him from additional prison time. He had spent years hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after Swedish authorities sought his arrest on rape allegations before being locked up in the United Kingdom.
Assange is expected to be sentenced to the five years he has already spent in the British prison while fighting extradition to the U.S. to face charges, a process that has played out in a series of hearings in London. Last month, he won the right to appeal an extradition order after his lawyers argued that the U.S. government provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.
Buildings are reflected in the window as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is taken from court, where he appeared on charges, Wednesday May 1, 2019 of jumping British bail seven years ago, in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
Assange has been heralded by many around the world as a hero who brought to light military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Among the files published by WikiLeaks was a video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.
But his reputation was also tarnished by rape allegations, which he has denied.
The Justice Department’s indictment unsealed in 2019 accused Assange of encouraging and helping U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published in 2010. Prosecutors had accused Assange of damaging national security by publishing documents that harmed the U.S. and its allies and aided its adversaries.
Prosecutors said in a charging document filed in connection with the plea agreement that Assange conspired with Manning to receive and obtain documents, notes and other writings related to the national defense and to “willfully communicate” those records. The document takes care to note that Assange was “not a United States citizen, did not possess a U.S. security clearance, and did not have authorization to possess, access, or control documents, writings, or notes relating to the national defense of the United States, including classified information.”
The case was lambasted by press advocates and Assange supporters. Federal prosecutors defended it as targeting conduct that went way beyond that of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classified government documents.
The plea agreement comes months after President Joe Biden said he was considering a request from Australia to drop the U.S. push to prosecute Assange. The White House was not involved in the decision to resolve Assange’s case, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Assange made headlines in 2016 after his website published Democratic emails that prosecutors say were stolen by Russian intelligence operatives. He was never charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, but the inquiry laid bare in stark detail the role that the hacking operation played in interfering in that year’s election on behalf of then-Republican candidate Donald Trump.
During the Obama administration, Justice Department officials mulled charges for Assange but were unsure a case would hold up in court and were concerned it could be hard to justify prosecuting him for acts similar to those of a conventional journalist.
The posture changed in the Trump administration, however, with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017 calling Assange’s arrest a priority.
Assange’s family and supporters have said his physical and mental health have suffered during more than a decade of legal battles.
Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 and was granted political asylum after courts in England ruled he should be extradited to Sweden as part of a rape investigation in the Scandinavian country. He was arrested by British police after Ecuador’s government withdrew his asylum status in 2019 and then jailed for skipping bail when he first took shelter inside the embassy.
Although Sweden eventually dropped its sex crimes investigation because so much time had elapsed, Assange had remained in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison during the extradition battle with the U.S.
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Tucker reported from Fort Pierce, Florida and Durkin Richer from Washington. Associated Press writer Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in France on Friday to attend the G7 foreign ministers meeting where he will deliver a clear message on U.S. priorities for the ongoing war with Iran.
In the days leading up to the meeting, other members have taken markedly different approaches to the war. Nearly all of Washington’s partners — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — have reacted cautiously to the U.S.-Israeli military campaign and declined to participate in offensive operations, even as they condemn Iranian actions.
Before departing on Thursday, Rubio signaled a defiant approach to the talks: “I don’t work for France or Germany or Japan… the people I’m interested in making happy are the people of the United States. I work for them,” he said in a video posted on X.
The divergence has drawn frustration from President Donald Trump, who has pressed allies to contribute more, particularly in securing key maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. While some countries have signaled a willingness to support defensive or maritime security efforts, they have stopped short of joining direct military strikes.
TRUMP PRESSES NATO PARTNERS ON SUPPORT AS HEGSETH BLASTS HESITATION
“The U.S. is constantly asked to help in wars and we have. But when we had a need, it didn’t get positive responses from NATO. A couple leaders said that Iran was not Europe’s war. Well, Ukraine isn’t our war, yet we’ve contributed more to that fight than anyone,” Rubio added.
“The Strait of Hormuz could be open tomorrow if Iran stops threatening global shipping, which is an outrage and a violation of international law. For all these countries that care about international law, they should be doing something about it,” he said before boarding his plane to France.
The remarks set the tone for a summit already marked by growing friction between Washington and some of its closest allies over how to handle the Iran conflict. Rubio has framed the stakes in stark terms. “Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years… Iran has been killing Americans and attacking Americans across this planet,” he said during a White House cabinet meeting, adding that allowing Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons would be “an unacceptable risk for the world.”
But even before Rubio arrived at the meeting, European officials were signaling a markedly different approach.
“We need to exit from the war, not escalate this further, because the consequences for everybody around the world are quite severe,” Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas said during a briefing on the sidelines of the G7 on Thursday.
JACK KEANE CALLS OUT NATO’S WEAKNESS AS SHIPPING CRISIS GRIPS STRAIT OF HORMUZ
(L/R, clockwise) French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meet during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 17, 2025 (LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)
“It can only be a diplomatic solution… sit down and negotiate to have a way out,” she added.
The contrast between Rubio’s framing and Kallas’s message captures the core tension shaping the meeting.
U.S. officials say Rubio is heading into the talks with a broader agenda that goes beyond Iran.
According to a State Department spokesperson, who spoke to Fox News Digital on background, Rubio will use the meeting to “advance key U.S. interests” and push discussions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as “international burden sharing” and the overall effectiveness of the G7.
The U.S. is also expected to emphasize maritime security, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, while urging allies to take on a greater share of responsibilities in conflict zones and international organizations, the spokesperson said.
RUBIO, RATCLIFFE TO DELIVER CLASSIFIED IRAN BRIEFING TO ‘GANG OF EIGHT’ AHEAD OF TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before boarding a plane as he is headed to France where he will take part in the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., March 26, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool via Reuters)
European officials have instead emphasized the broader risks of the conflict.
France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said discussions at the G7 would build on a recent joint statement condemning Iran’s actions while also addressing maritime security concerns.
He said the “discussions will provide an opportunity to revisit positions already agreed at the G7 level… including the unjustifiable attacks carried out by Iran against Gulf countries… which we condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
Barrot added that ministers would also focus on securing global shipping routes.
A satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, vital for global energy supply. (Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)
“We will also have the opportunity to address maritime security and freedom of navigation… including an international mission… to ensure the smooth flow of maritime traffic in a strictly defensive posture, thereby helping to ease pressure on energy prices,” he said.
Kallas echoed that global framing. “All the countries in the world are one way or another affected by this war… it is in the interest of everybody that this war stops,” she said.
IRAN SIGNALS NUCLEAR PROGRESS IN GENEVA AS TRUMP CALLS FOR FULL DISMANTLEMENT
Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy speaks to the press during EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium on Dec. 19, 2024. (Photo by Nicolas Landemard/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Her remarks also pointed to the interconnected nature of the crisis. “Russia is helping Iran with intelligence… and also supporting Iran now with drones,” she said, linking the Iran conflict to the war in Ukraine.
That uncertainty is already affecting the structure of the summit, with officials dropping plans for a unified final communiqué to avoid exposing divisions, Reuters reported.
Analysts say those differences reflect deeper structural tensions in the alliance. “Europe has criticized Donald Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ strategy towards Iran while pursuing a failed diplomatic approach that has enabled the regime to expand its terrorist networks and edge closer to nuclear threshold status,” Barak Seener, senior research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
“This reflects a lack of European capability to project power in the region, particularly in safeguarding the Strait of Hormuz.”
FILE PHOTO: Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo/File Photo)
Seener added that years of reliance on Washington have left Europe increasingly exposed as the U.S. shifts its strategic priorities. “Years of underinvestment in defense and reliance on the United States have created a dependency that Washington increasingly views as a betrayal of the peace it has guaranteed Europe since the Second World War,” he said.
“With the U.S. placing greater value on its relationship with Israel than NATO, the result may be further erosion of the alliance, reduced support for Ukraine and rising economic pressure on Europe.”
He warned that the immediate test will come at the G7 itself. “Divisions over how to respond to Iran and to any U.S. request for support are likely to expose a deeper transatlantic split,” Seener said.
“Operation Epic Fury has showcased President Trump’s ability to assemble a coalition of allies to eliminate a common threat — in this case the Iranian regime — and stabilize international trade,” Jacob Olidort, chief research officer and director of American security at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital.
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A satellite view shows the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, on Oct. 2, 2024. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data via Getty Images)
“The failure of Western Europe to participate in securing the Strait of Hormuz is particularly egregious because those countries depend on it more than we do,” he added.
“At the same time, the historic successes of Operation Epic Fury have awakened a new confidence in our Middle East partners to eradicate the threats from the Iranian regime and to work together to shape a more peaceful and prosperous region.”
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On today’s show:
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Top story: G7 Summit debrief with Méabh Mc Mahon and Maia de la Baume.
Explainer by Jakub Janas: What’s the point of the G7 meeting?
Iran war update with Méabh Mc Mahon and Babak Kamiar.
Interview with Ghassan Salamé, Lebanese Culture Minister.
Interview with Valérie Hayer, Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe, France).
When and where to watch Europe Today?
You can join Euronews’ chief anchor Méabh Mc Mahon and our EU editor Maria Tadeo live on TV and Euronews’ website and digital platforms every weekday.
Our new format brings you the day’s key events plus crucial analysis of all the stories shaping the EU and beyond. It’s also available as a newsletter and podcast.
The official additionally stated that Iran has reviewed a US 15-point proposal for ending the ongoing war in the Middle East and deemed it “one-sided and unfair,” serving only US and Israeli interests, and lacking “the minimum requirements for success.”
“In brief, the proposal suggests that Iran would relinquish its ability to defend itself in exchange for a vague plan to lift sanctions,” he told Reuters.
No arrangement for negotiations has been established yet, the official continued, adding that Turkey and Pakistan are attempting to “establish common ground between Iran and the United States and reduce differences.”
The proposal, which was conveyed to Iran through Pakistan, “was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader,” the official said.
On Wednesday, Iranian regime-tied Press TV cited an Iranian official as stating that Tehran considered the conditions of the proposal excessive and would only agree to end the war at a time of its choosing if its conditions are met.
According to an N12 News report on Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the details of the potential plan, the US was considering declaring a month-long ceasefire during which negotiations on the agreement would take place.
The 15-point plan reportedly contained terms including the dismantling of all existing Iranian nuclear capabilities, a commitment that Iran will discontinue efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, and a requirement that any already enriched uranium be moved out of Iran.
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