The WikiLeaks founder suggested that he is returning to public life two years after striking a deal for his freedom with the US<\/p>\n
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has suggested that he is returning to public life, following a hiatus after his release from British custody in 2024.
\nThe transparency activist spent five years behind bars while fighting a US extradition request that could have resulted in a lengthy sentence in a high-security US prison. He eventually struck a deal that secured his freedom amid a global campaign urging Washington to drop the case against him.
\nThe WikiLeaks account on X announced on Thursday that Assange is \u201cback,\u201d posting a photo in which he is posing in front of a mural depicting him in Sydney, Australia.
\nAssange reposted the message, confirming his return and saying it is the first post in eight years that he has personally written.<\/p>\n
I’m back. https:\/\/t.co\/2e58azeJkt\u2014 Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) September 17, 2026 <\/p>\n
His wife Stella said more news will follow next week.
\nWikiLeaks became a global phenomenon in 2010 after publishing a leaked video showing a US military airstrike in Baghdad in 2007 that killed at least a dozen people.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Why this man is the most important political prisoner<\/p>\n
Chelsea Manning was arrested and later convicted in 2013 for providing WikiLeaks with the footage and other classified US military materials.
\nThe US espionage case against Assange centered on obtaining the files from Manning, while Britain\u2019s initial efforts to detain him arose from an unrelated case that his supporters said was fabricated.
\nAssange was granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012 and spent years inside the South American country\u2019s embassy in London. A change of government in Quito eventually led Ecuador to revoke his asylum and allow British police to arrest him in 2019.
\nUnder the deal reached with the US in 2024, Assange pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US documents. He was sentenced to time already served in London\u2019s high-security Belmarsh Prison. In Britain, he was convicted of violating bail conditions.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Assange returns home (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
Since regaining his freedom, Assange has made several public appearances. Months after his release, he addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, speaking about the ordeal he endured.
\nIn 2025, he took part in a pro-Palestinian march in Sydney with an estimated 100,000 people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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