All eyes are now on American court in Northern Mariana Islands, chosen by Julian Assange due to his reluctance to travel to continental US and territory's proximity to his native Australia.WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has landed on the US territory of Saipan Island for a court hearing under a plea deal that is expected to bring his years-long legal troubles to a close and allow him to return to his native Australia as a"free man".
A private jet carrying the 52-year-old stopped to refuel in Bangkok on Tuesday, taking off again around 9:25 pm to fly to Saipan, capital of the US territory where Assange is appearing in court. Assange's wife Stella said he would be a"free man" after the judge signed off on the plea deal, than king supporters who have campaigned for his release for years.She urged supporters to monitor her husband's flight on plane-tracking websites and to follow the"AssangeJet" hashtag, saying in a post on social media platform X"we need all eyes on his flight in case something goes wrong".
Stella Assange said on X that her husband would have to repay the Australian government the $520,000 cost of the charter flight and urged supporters to donate money. But former US Vice President Mike Pence slammed the plea deal on X as a"miscarriage of justice" that"dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces".The announcement of the deal came two weeks before Assange was scheduled to appear in court in Britain to appeal against a ruling that approved his extradition to the United States.