WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walks free after reaching U.S. plea deal, bound for Australia

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday walked free after pleading guilty in a U.S. court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific, to a felony charge for publishing U.S. military secrets.

According to documents from the U.S. court in Saipan, the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, Assange pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiracy to obtain documents, writing and notes connected with the U.S. national defense and communicating these materials.

As part of the plea agreement, the U.S. is bound to withdraw its extradition request and recommended a sentence to time already served, with no additional fines issued.