WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been released from prison and is expected to plead guilty to conspiring to release US classified information.

WikiLeaks has said Mr Assange has left prison and the UK after being granted bail. 

It's understood US authorities have agreed to drop their demand for the WikiLeaks founder to be extradited from Britain, after reaching a plea deal. 

The Australian is expected to plead guilty to conspiring to unlawfully obtain and release classified and national defence information. 

He is due to be sentenced to 62 months in prison - time he has already spent in a British prison, according to court documents. 

Once the guilty plea is accepted by a judge, the 52-year-old will be free to return to Australia, the country of his birth. 

Mr Assange spent the last five years in jail at Belmarsh fighting extradition to America. 

His wife Stella Assange has said she is confident this “period” of their lives “has come to an end”. 

“What starts now with Julian's freedom is a new chapter,” she said on social media. 

Julian Assange to plead guilty

American prosecutors alleged that Mr Assange put lives at risk when he helped former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks put online in 2010. 

Former CIA chief of staff Larry Pfeiffer said he is disappointed Mr Assange wasn’t tried in court – but he sees this as a win for the American justice system. 

He said Mr Assange’s “self-imposed exile” at the Ecuadorian Embassy in 2012 and time in prison since 2019 now appear fruitless. 

“He probably has spent more time than he might have spent if he had actually come when the charges were levied,” he said. 

Mr Assange’s official plea and hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning local time – Tuesday evening Irish time – on Saipan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

The hearing is taking place in the US Commonwealth territory because of Mr Assange's opposition to travelling to the US. 

Mr Assange founded WikiLeaks – a non-profit publisher of leaked documents – on October 4th, 2006.