Julian Assange Pleads Guilty

Assange faces up to five years in prison for conspiring to obtain and disclose classified information

Assange's extradition to the US had been approved by the UK government, but he was granted bail pending an appeal

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified information. The charge stems from Assange's role in the 2010 leak of a trove of classified US military and diplomatic documents.

Assange faces up to five years in prison. He is expected to be sentenced in September.

Assange's extradition to the US had been approved by the UK government, but he was granted bail pending an appeal. Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, when he sought asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over sexual assault allegations.

The US indictment against Assange alleges that he conspired with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain and disclose classified information. The indictment also alleges that Assange encouraged Manning to steal additional classified information.

Assange's guilty plea is a significant development in the long-running case against him. It is unclear whether Assange will serve his sentence in the UK or the US.