Julian Assange is free! After accepting a deal that will see him plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in exchange for his freedom, he has departed for a court in the US commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, from where he’ll continue on to Australia. He has spent five years in what has been dubbed ‘Britain’s Guantanamo,’ aka the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison.
His real ‘crime,’ many would argue, was simply lifting the lid on US wrongdoings - by publishing a trove of diplomatic cables that implicate Washington in atrocities and alleged war crimes. Many of these relate directly to Africa.
Here’s a reminder of some of Assange’s key revelations concerning American foul play on the African continent - and why his freedom is important.