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Assange arrives home after guilty plea

Julian Assange pleaded guilty to one charge in court and was allowed to walk free. Credit: Reuters

Having been declared a free man after his lengthy legal battle ended with a hearing in a US territory in the western Pacific, Julian Assange left the court and quietly nodded to the snapping cameras that surrounded him. Then he set off for home and has just landed in Canberra. Until very recently, the Australian had feared a long sentence in a US high security prison for leaking vast amounts of military information. So how was his release won? As James Landale and Tiffanie Turnbull explain, Australian government pressure, British legal process and a realisation by the US that it needed a deal all led to the Wikileaks founder's freedom. Public opinion hasn't always been on his side in Australia. But after his guilty plea to conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information secured the deal, many in the country are celebrating his freedom as he begins a new life back home. Our live page has the latest reaction and analysis.

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• Walking free: Watch the moment Julian Assange left the court building after being released by Judge Ramona Manglona.

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• Why Saipan? You may not have heard of the Northern Mariana Islands before but now the world's eyes have been on its capital. This is why it hosted the Assange hearing.

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• A controversial figure: From leaking classified files to claiming asylum to avoid extradition over a rape allegation he denied, here's the background to Julian Assange.

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