Julian Assange pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act during an appearance at a U.S. courthouse in the remote tropical island of Saipan and was allowed to walk free, a surprise end to a legal saga that has stretched for over a decade.

Julian Assange's plea deal hearing began on Wednesday in a courtroom on the U.S. Pacific island territory of Saipan where he is expected to walk free after a deal with U.S. prosecutors. Assange is expected to plead guilty to violating U.

Assange has spent the last five years in Belmarsh prison, London, and while it is "unclear why he has been released now", a bargain has been struck, said The Guardian. This deal saw Assange plead guilty to one espionage charge, allowing him to "walk free" due to previous time served.

The plea deal resulting in WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's freedom was the culmination of a lengthy negotiation process that accelerated in recent months and featured numerous proposals and counter

Julian Assange is en route to a courtroom on the Pacific island of Saipan where he is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday to a single criminal charge in a plea deal that will see him walk free and return home to Australia after a 14-year legal odyssey.

The placid island is briefly mobbed by the media as the WikiLeaks founder attended a final hearing at the U.S. Courthouse there.