Julian Assange
Born 1971 · Age 54
Australian editor, publisher, activist and founder of WikiLeaks (born 3 July 1971). Brought global attention to classified leaks beginning in 2010; spent years fighting extradition and was released to Australia in 2024 after a US plea deal.
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Life & Career Timeline
Birth in Townsville, Queensland
Born Julian Paul Hawkins in Townsville, Queensland, Australia to Christine Ann Hawkins and later took the surname Assange from stepfather Brett Assange.
Family separation and frequent moves
Mother Christine and stepfather Brett Assange divorced around 1979; childhood involved moving across 30+ Australian towns and many schools.
Attended Goolmangar Primary School
Attended Goolmangar Primary School (1979–1983) among other short stints at multiple schools and home schooling.
Became active as hacker 'Mendax'
By age 16 Assange was an accomplished hacker operating under the handle 'Mendax' and participating in the International Subversives group.
Social engineering breach of OTC mainframes
Used social engineering to obtain passwords for Australia's Overseas Telecommunications Commission mainframes.
Nortel master terminal intrusion discovered
AFP investigation Operation Weather targeted the International Subversives; Assange was discovered hacking Nortel's Melbourne master terminal; phone tapped and home raided by police in Oct 1991.
Joined cypherpunk mailing list
Became active on the cypherpunk list and began focusing on information-sharing, privacy, and encryption.
Took over Suburbia Public Access Network
Assange assumed operation of one of Australia's first public ISPs, Suburbia Public Access Network, when its owner moved to Sydney.
Charged with multiple computer offences
Formal charges brought (31 counts originally) related to hacking, fraud, altering and erasing data; case progressed through Victorian courts.
Began programming and authored encryption tools
Started programming in 1994 and coauthored tools and projects including Rubberhose deniable encryption and networking/security code.
Trial initially set
Trial dates set and legal processes moved his case from Supreme to County Court in Victoria.
Pleaded guilty to hacking charges
Struck a plea deal and pleaded guilty to 24 hacking charges; sentenced to a fine and good behaviour bond rather than jail.
Sentenced to fine and good behaviour bond
Judge imposed an A$2,100 fine and a A$5,000 good behaviour bond instead of custodial sentence.
Contributed to 'Underground' book
Contributed research and was listed as a researcher for Suelette Dreyfus's book 'Underground', documenting Australian hacking culture.
Co-founded Earthmen Technology
Co-founded Earthmen Technology (with 'Trax') to develop network intrusion detection and Linux kernel hacking tools.
Publicised NSA patent on voice-data harvesting
Drew public attention to an August 1999 NSA patent about voice-data harvesting, warning about surveillance of phone calls.
Studied at University of Melbourne
Studied programming, mathematics and physics at the University of Melbourne (2003–2006) but did not complete a degree.
Founded WikiLeaks
Established WikiLeaks as a platform for anonymous leaks and publishing classified documents; became editor-in-chief and a director.
WikiLeaks first published content
WikiLeaks posted its first leak in December 2006 and Assange published a five-page essay outlining the site's strategy.
Met key supporters at Chaos Computer Club
Found important supporters including Daniel Domscheit-Berg and Jacob Appelbaum at the December 2007 Chaos Computer Club conference in Berlin.
Published Bank Julius Baer documents & Tibetan unrest footage
WikiLeaks published Bank Julius Baer documents (legal attempt to block backfired) and footage of the 2008 Tibetan unrest.
Won Amnesty International New Media Award
Awarded the 2009 Amnesty International UK Media Award (New Media) for reporting/collaboration on corruption and human rights content.
Published Turks and Caicos Commission report (restored full text)
In July 2009 WikiLeaks published the full, redacted British Foreign Office commission report on corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Named Time Readers' Choice Man of the Year (2010)
Recognised in Time magazine's 2010 readers' poll and nominated for other international honours (e.g., Nobel Peace Prize nomination 2011).
Publication of Chelsea Manning leaks begins
WikiLeaks began publishing a series of leaks from US Army analyst Chelsea Manning starting in February 2010.
Released 'Collateral Murder' video
In April 2010 WikiLeaks released footage of the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike, presented at the US National Press Club; major international impact.
Published Afghan War logs
In July 2010 WikiLeaks published the Afghan War logs, a large cache of classified military documents covering the Afghan war.
Published Iraq War logs
In October 2010 WikiLeaks released the Iraq War logs — 391,832 US Army field reports from 2004–2009.
Published US diplomatic cables ('Cablegate')
In November 2010 WikiLeaks published about a quarter of a million US diplomatic cables (Cablegate), greatly affecting international diplomacy.
Sweden issues arrest warrant / extradition sought
Swedish prosecutors sought to question Assange over alleged sexual offences and sought his extradition from the UK (first warrant timeline Oct–Nov 2010).
Arrested in London and released on bail
Assange was arrested in London in December 2010 in relation to the Swedish warrant, then released on conditional bail pending extradition hearings.
Awarded Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal
Received the Sydney Peace Foundation gold medal in 2011 for his work on human rights and transparency.
Sold publishing rights to autobiography
Sold publishing rights to his (unauthorised) autobiography to Canongate and provided extensive interviews; book published in Sept 2011 against his wishes.
Became house arrested in Norfolk
Remained on conditional bail under house arrest at a supporter’s estate in Norfolk while his extradition appeals continued (Dec 2010–June 2012 period).
Received Martha Gellhorn Prize & Sam Adams Award
Received multiple journalism/human-rights awards in 2010–2011 such as the Sam Adams Award (2010) and Martha Gellhorn Prize (2011).
Unredacted diplomatic cables became public
After security issues and key disclosures, a copy of the unredacted diplomatic cable archive became public in Sept 2011 (WikiLeaks announced making cables searchable).
Recorded as editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks
Served as WikiLeaks' editor-in-chief and one of four permanent staff through late 2000s and into early 2010s; head of editorial decisions.
Launched 'The World Tomorrow' talk show
Debuted a weekly talk show 'The World Tomorrow' in April 2012 on RT and online while effectively confined in embassy/house arrest period.
Entered Ecuadorian embassy seeking asylum
Breached bail and took refuge inside the Embassy of Ecuador in London on 19 June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.
Granted asylum by Ecuador
Ecuador granted Assange political asylum in August 2012 citing political persecution and fear he might be extradited to the US.
Founded the WikiLeaks Party
Launched the WikiLeaks Party in July 2013 and stood as a candidate for the Australian Senate while still in the Ecuadorian embassy.
WikiLeaks Party contested Australian federal election
WikiLeaks Party performed poorly in the 7 September 2013 general election, receiving under 1% of the national vote and no Senate seats.
Swedish court upheld detention order
In November 2014 a Swedish court announced the detainment order would be upheld; Ecuador reaffirmed protection.
Sweden statute of limitations lapses on some allegations
On 12 August 2015 Swedish prosecutors announced statute of limitations had expired for three of the allegations against Assange.
WikiLeaks publications impacted US 2016 election
WikiLeaks published emails from the DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016; US intelligence agencies assessed Russian actors aided the leak campaign.
UN Working Group opinion on arbitrary detention (2016–2017 rulings)
UN panel (Feb 2016) ruled Assange had been arbitrarily detained and recommended release and compensation; UK/Sweden rejected ruling as non-binding.
Granted Ecuadorian citizenship
Ecuador granted Assange citizenship in December 2017 while he remained in the embassy.
Ecuador cut off internet access
In March 2018 the Ecuadorian government cut off Assange's embassy internet access, citing damage to international relations; tensions increased later that year.
Reports US Justice Department filed secret charges
It was revealed in November 2018 that the US DOJ had secretly filed charges against Assange (reported by multiple outlets).
Ecuador withdraws asylum; arrested by UK police
On 11 April 2019 Ecuador rescinded asylum; UK police entered the embassy and arrested Assange for failing to surrender (breach of bail).
Sentenced for breaching UK Bail Act
Found guilty of breaching bail and sentenced to 50 weeks' imprisonment (May 2019).
US unsealed 2019 indictment (17 counts)
A federal grand jury in Alexandria unsealed an indictment charging Assange on multiple counts including conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and Espionage Act-related counts.
Swedish prosecutors discontinue rape investigation
On 19 November 2019 Swedish prosecutors announced they were discontinuing their investigation due to weakened evidence over time.
US unsealed additional Espionage Act charges
In June 2020 the US unsealed further indictments charging Assange under the Espionage Act and alleging conspiracy with hackers.
Key US witness recanted fabrication claims
The key witness for the new indictment later said in 2021 he had fabricated testimony; raised issues about parts of prosecution evidence.
UK judge blocks US extradition on mental health grounds
In January 2021 a UK judge rejected the US request to extradite Assange due to risk to his mental health and suicide risk (later appealed by US).
UK orders extradition (June 2022, then tied up in appeals)
In June 2022 the UK home secretary signed off on Assange's extradition; legal challenges and appeals continued through 2023–2024.
Australian government lobbies for Assange's release
In 2022, the incoming Australian Labor government under Anthony Albanese shifted position and began lobbying the US and UK for Assange's release.
Criminal penalty recorded as time served
As part of the deal he was credited with time served (infobox records 62 months served) and thus freed from further UK custody.
Public profile: director/publisher roles updated
Listed publicly as WikiLeaks director and editor-in-chief (2006–2018) and publisher (since 2018); remains associated with WikiLeaks.
High Court granted full appeal (May 2024 ruling allowed appeal)
In 2024 the High Court granted Assange a full appeal to the extradition decision and allowed a new appeal in May 2024 (paved way for negotiation).
Signed plea agreement with US prosecutors
Reportedly signed a plea agreement with US prosecutors in which he agreed to plead guilty to an Espionage Act-related conspiracy charge in return for time served.
Released from UK prison on bail
Released from HM Prison Belmarsh on 24 June 2024 after agreement; boarded flight to a US territory to formalise plea arrangements.
Plead guilty in Saipan to Espionage Act charge
Formally pleaded guilty in the Mariana Islands (Saipan) to a charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents; sentence: time served.
Returned to Australia
Following the plea hearing in Saipan, Assange flew to Australia, arriving on 26 June 2024.
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