Julian Assange Spends $500,000 Flying To Remote Island To Avoid Coming To U.S. After Plea Deal

Julian Assange spent $500,000 to fly to a remote island after taking a plea deal with the U.S. government and being freed from prison.

The WikiLeaks founder was freed from U.K. prison on Monday morning, where he was being held on a charge of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information. The 52-year-old released classified reports on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on his site, according to court documents.

Assange flew from London Stansted Airport to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a flight that cost him half a million dollars. On Wednesday, he had a U.S. federal court hearing from the island, where he pleaded guilty to the charge.

The leaker reportedly refused to step foot on the American mainland and chose to fly to the tropical island due to its proximity to Australia, where he is from. He is said to have wanted a U.S. territory close to Australia. 

The deal came as a surprise after Assange’s extradition to the U.S. had been approved years earlier. The Australian government had pressed for a resolution of the case which has dragged on for years.

After pleading guilty, Assange flew home with his five years in prison counting as time served. His wife, Stella Assange, said it has been a “rough few years” for the couple.