'Free man': Assange on way home to Australia

Julian Assange has departed Saipan after accepting a plea deal that secured his freedom and is expected to land in Australia at 7.30pm, June 26.

The private jet carrying the Wikileaks founder departed the pacific U.S. territory at 1pm with the flight scheduled to land at a Canberra airport.

It comes after Assange faced court at the Northern Marianas Islands with Australia's ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd at his side. He was sentenced to time already served after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge on June 26.

Assange smiled slightly as U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona pronounced him a "free man".

Outside of the court, Assange's legal team thanked Australian government officials for their work and said Assange's prosecution was "unprecedented".

His Australian lawyer Jennifer Robinson thanked Mr Rudd for his "adept diplomacy" that helped secure the outcome.

"Julian has suffered for more than 14 years. This prosecution sets a precedent that should be a concern to journalists everywhere," she said.

His US lawyer Barry Pollack said Assange "revealed important newsworthy information and suffered tremendously [in pursuit of] free speech and freedom of the press".

He was grateful to be reuniting with his family and getting back to Australia.

Wikileaks' work would continue and Assange would remain a "powerful voice", Mr Pollack said.

The WikiLeaks founder faced a US court more than 14 years after his site published classified defence documents alleging the country committed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange's brother, documentary filmmaker Gabriel Shipton, told ACM it was "time for everyone who's been working on this to have a beer".

Stella Assange, lawyer and wife of Mr Assange, was seeking a pardon as accepting an espionage charge was a "very serious concern" for journalists everywhere.

THE ECHIDNA: Assange not the first to suffer pursuing truth

The Queensland-born editor pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a plea deal with the US Justice Department after spending seven years in London's Ecuadorian embassy and five years in Belmarsh Prison in the U.K.

The plea deal in the U.S territory court has enabled his to return to Australia without spending any time in a U.S prison.

Assange arrived via private plane on the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory north of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, at 6.30am on June 26.

"The case has dragged on for too long, there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.