Washington. Wikileaks website founder Julian Assange has finally been released from prison in Britain. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to plead guilty to serious charges of stealing government data as part of a deal with the US Justice Department.

Assange, who was in custody in Britain, has been found guilty of one count of conspiracy to obtain and disseminate national defense information, according to a document filed in a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean.

WikiLeaks reported Tuesday morning British time that "Julian Assange has been released" and has left the country. He is scheduled to appear in US territory on Wednesday morning local time.

Assange could be sentenced to 62 months in prison, including five years already spent in prison in Britain. This means he could return to his homeland Australia.

Wikileaks wrote on X, "Julian Assange has been released. He walked out of Belmarsh Maximum Security Prison on the morning of June 24 after spending 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted Airport in the afternoon, from where he boarded a plane and left the UK." Describing the release as the result of a global campaign, it said that "it created space for long-term negotiations with the US Justice Department, resulting in a deal that has not yet been formally finalised."

Assange was charged with 17 counts

Julian Assange faces 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer misuse over the publication of US documents on his website nearly 15 years ago.

Australian-born Assange has spent the last five years in a British prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years. US authorities wanted Assange to face trial for allegedly endangering people's lives by publishing thousands of confidential documents on Wikileaks, while defense lawyers have argued that the case against Assange is politically motivated.

US officials wanted to prosecute Assange for revealing US military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This plea bargain agreement will likely end Assange's nearly 14-year legal ordeal.

Assange was indicted by a US federal grand jury in 2019 on 18 counts relating to the publication of national security documents by WikiLeaks.

The deal was announced two weeks before Assange is due to appear in a UK court to appeal a ruling allowing him to be extradited to the United States. Assange has been detained at London's high-security Belmarsh prison since April 2019

Assange charged under 1917 Espionage Act

He was arrested after living for seven years in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced sexual assault charges that were eventually dropped.

The material they released included video of civilians killed by fire from US helicopter gunships in Iraq in 2007. Two Reuters journalists were among the victims.

The United States has charged Assange under the 1917 Espionage Act. Supporters have warned this means he could face up to 175 years in prison.

The British government approved his extradition in June 2022.

The case took a new twist when two British judges said in May that he could appeal against his extradition to the United States.

What are the charges against Assange?

Julian Assange is accused of publishing confidential military records given by former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010 and 2011. He faced 18 counts in a 2019 indictment for his alleged role in stealing and publishing government data. It carries a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.