It is a long and warm hug to his wife Stella Moris first, then to his other family members, and the one to which the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, finally abandoned himself after landing in Canberra, Australia. Freed after 5 years in prison thanks to an agreement with the US government, which demanded his recognition of guilt, Assange got off the plane and raised his fist in greeting towards the journalists present, while the crowd welcomed him with applause and shouts of “welcome home”. Visibly moved, Assange held and lifted his wife in a long embrace, followed by a passionate kiss, as evidenced by the videos that captured his arrival. Subsequently, he met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who played an important role in the undercover negotiations to free the Wikileaks founder. “The government did exactly the right thing to get a result,” the prime minister declared, underlining the importance of government actions for Assange’s return.
The wife: «Now Julian won’t talk, he needs time»
«Julian wanted me to sincerely thank you all. He wanted to be here. But you have to understand what he went through. He needs time. He needs to recover. I ask you, please, to give us space, to give us privacy to find our place”, declared Assange’s wife, explaining that her husband, now free after 5 years spent in prison, will not speak about her for now. «He has to get used to freedom. Someone yesterday who experienced something similar told me that freedom comes slowly. And I want Julian to have that space to rediscover freedom, slowly,” she concluded.
Video – Vista Agency / Alexander Jakhnagiev
