He means a lot of things to a lot of people, which informed the storm of mixed opinions that greeted his release from prison. For WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, though, nothing matters much besides his freedom, sweet freedom.
And he is already making use of this freedom, heading to Australia soon after he was released from jail. He had entered into a plea deal with the authorities that saw him admit to espionage activities to earn his freedom.
In ruling in the case, Chief US District Judge Ramona V. Manglona accepted Assange’s plea, noting as part of the judgment: “I believed the First Amendment protected that activity but I accept that it was … a violation of the espionage statute.” Case closed, maybe. At least, Assange no longer faces the terrors of the slammer after spending years there.
As the brains behind WikiLeaks, Assange revealed so much that he antagonised people and governments around the world, some of whom are still miffed that he somehow managed to secure a release from jail.
While some people remain upset with his release, Assange couldn’t be happier with his new-found freedom which he appears to use to the hilt. But first, home calls. Dude heads to Australia
