Julian Assange , Reaches Plea Deal With , US Government.br 'The Independent' reports that Wikileaks br founder Julian Assange has been released br from Belmarsh prison as part of a plea deal br with the United States Justice Department.br Assange will be flown out of the U.K. as part br of the deal before he makes a guilty plea deal br that could end the years-long legal battle.br On June 24, Assange boarded a flight at Stansted airport br ahead of a scheduled appearance later this week in the br Mariana Islands, a Western Pacific U.S. commonwealth.br The U.S. government has charged the br Wikileaks founder with conspiracy to obtain br and disclose national defense secrets.br The charges stem from one of the largest leaks of br classified information in U.S. history, disclosing tens of br thousands of reports regarding the war in Afghanistan.br The disclosure, which occurred between 2009 and br 2011, included unfiltered diplomatic cables that br potentially endangered the safety of confidential sources. .br The leak also included significant br activity reports related to the war in Iraq br and information regarding Guantanamo Bay.br According to the latest DOJ filing, Assange is expected br to plead guilty and be sentenced to 62 months of time br already served, thus avoiding U.S. imprisonment. .br This is the result of a global campaign br that spanned grass-roots organizers, br press freedom campaigners, br legislators and leaders from br across the political spectrum, br all the way to the United Nations, Wikileaks statement, via X.