Julian Assange live news: WikiLeaks founder’s hearing under way in Saipan district courtroom for plea and sentencing | Julian Assange

Helen Davidson

All eyes are on Julian Assangewho sits quietly at the defense table and appears to be reading court documents with his lawyer.

Kevin Rudd and Stephen Smith they sit with his legal team behind him and talk to each other.

Helen Davidson

a judge Ramona V Manglona has not arrived yet.

Julian Assange enters the courtroom

Helen Davidson

Julian Assange has arrived at the court.

Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Steven Smith, sit behind him as supporters.

Assange’s hearing is expected to begin any moment in a packed courtroom

Helen Davidson

The last two seats in the main courtroom have been filled, and anyone else who wants to watch the trial is now expected to be seated in an additional courtroom.

The hearing, before the Chief Justice Ramona V Manglona, expected to start any moment. The Guardian saw Assange enter a side room about 20 minutes ago.

As we reported earlier, Julian Assange arrived at the court in Saipan along with the Australian ambassador to the US and a former prime minister, Kevin Rudd.

Rudd was Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 as leader of the Labor Party. In 2010, he resigned as leader following a leadership challenge from his then deputy, Julia Gillard.

He eventually defeated Gillard in a leadership spill in 2013 to become prime minister for a second term, but it was short-lived – Labor lost the federal election just two months later.

Rudd first entered the Australian Parliament in 1988 as the federal member for Griffith, in the inner-southern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. He was appointed shadow foreign secretary in 2001 and first became Labor leader in late 2006.

Rudd is known for delivering Australia’s first national apology to Indigenous people for The Stolen Generations.

Never one to shy away from the cameras, after retiring from politics he was appointed Australia’s ambassador to the United States in late 2022. The current Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanesesaid at the time that his appointment would serve him well “at a time when our region is being reshaped by strategic competition” between the US and China.

Rudd was the global president and CEO of the Asia Society Institute of International Affairs and can speak Mandarin.

Assange’s court hearing will begin in less than half an hour

Helen Davidson

There are about 40-50 media and supporters of Julian Assange here at the Saipan District Court. Many of the journalists have come from abroad to cover what is one of the longest-running sagas in the media.

The courthouse is located at the foot of a lush hill on the coast of Saipan, in the village of Gualo Rai. In front is the sparkling Pacific and a beach with stray kittens running among the trees.

The atmosphere in the courthouse parking lot is lively, Saipan hasn’t had a history like this for as long as local journalists can remember, and there’s bewilderment at the faster pace, sense of stress and insistence of the incoming reporters compared to the usual relaxed style.

Assange landed around 6am this morning on a half million dollar charter flight from London. He was accompanied by the Australian ambassadors to Britain and the US, and a motorcade took him straight to the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Just a few hours later, he arrived in court wearing a dark suit and a neutral expression. He did not answer questions from the swarming media, including one pointed inquiry about whether he preferred the weather in Saipan to London.

Inside the courthouse, security and court officials greeted visitors with patience and warnings not to write anything down while inside.

In the wood-paneled courtroom, two flags stand next to the judge’s chair—one, the Stars and Stripes, the other for this Pacific territory.

Assange had agreed to appear before a US court but, ever suspicious, refused to go to the US mainland. And so he Steven Smith, Kevin Ruddand a handful of international media found themselves on this island chain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

In less than half an hour, Assange is expected to plead guilty to one count of violating espionage in exchange for his freedom.