Who is Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks?

FRANCE 24

25 June 2024 at 2:33 am·1-min read

Julian Assange, who is expected to return home to Australia a free man this week after years of fighting against extradition to the US on spying charges, is for some a fearless campaigner for press freedom. But for others, the 52-year-old Australian was reckless with classified information, possibly endangering human sources.

Assange is the figurehead of the whistleblowing website that exposed government secrets worldwide, notably the explosive leak of US military files related to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He has spent more than a decade either in custody or holed up in Ecuador's London embassy, trying to avoid extradition – first to Sweden to answer allegations of rape, and then to the United States.

Assange is expected to plead guilty this week to violating US espionage law, after which he is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time served and return to Australia.

Born in Townsville, Queensland, in 1971, Assange had a peripatetic childhood and claims to have attended 37 schools before settling in Melbourne.

"We are creating a new standard for a free press," Assange told AFP in August 2010.

Embassy asylum

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Embassy asylum

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