The United States has banned Julian Assange from returning unless he is granted permission, the justice department said Tuesday, as the Australian native was freed in a U.S. territory and boarded a plane for Canberra.
“Pursuant to the plea agreement, Assange is prohibited from returning to the United States without permission,” a Department of Justice statement said of the WikiLeaks founder, who has been embroiled in years-long international legal drama after publishing thousands of secret US documents in 2010.
Julian Assange stood trial on Australian soil, having spent his first night in his home country in nearly 15 years.
His lawyer Jen Robinson, filled with emotion as she addressed a rowdy media pack in Canberra, said Assange’s return home had “saved his life”.
Stella Assange, human rights activist, Julian’s wife, and the mother of their two children, said she could not describe the moment when he rushed from the plane, across the tarmac, and into her arms.
“I was overcome by emotion when I first heard there were crowds cheering, that I didn’t even know were there,” Ms Assange said, recounting their reunion.
“We embraced, and I think you’ve seen the pictures. I don’t want to express in words what is obvious from the image.”
On social media, she offered one simple word next to the photo of their embrace: “home”.
