Assange’s wife says he needs time to ‘recuperate’ after release

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange needs privacy and time to recover after more than five years in a high-security London prison, his wife Stella said after his return to Australia Wednesday.

Assange wanted to attend a news conference soon after his arrival in the Australian capital but “you have to understand, he needs time, he needs to recuperate, and this is a process,” she told reporters, apparently close to tears.

“I ask you please to give us space, to give us privacy, to find our place, to let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing.”

Assange landed on a chilly Canberra evening in a private jet hours after being freed by a court in the US Pacific territory of Northern Mariana Islands.

He admitted to one count of revealing US defence secrets in exchange for being sentenced by the US judge to time already served in London’s Belmarsh prison — five years and two months.

The agreement allowed him to walk free and return home to Australia.

“He just arrived in Australia after being in a high-security prison for over five years and a long 72-hour flight, or something like that — it’s premature,” Stella Assange said.

“Julian has to recover, that’s the priority, and the fact is that Julian will always defend human rights, will always defend victims, and that is just part of who he is,” she said.

Assange’s lawyer Jen Robinson said he had spoken to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when his plane touched down and “told the prime minister that he had saved his life”.

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AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)