Assange's wife, Stella, says they will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary
Julian Assange's wife, Stella, urged media to continue investigating how US handled his case. AFP

Julian Assange's wife, Stella Assange, has urged media persons to put pressure on the United States for details regarding the criminal charges against her husband on the basis of Freedom of Information (FoI) and how his case was handled, as he was restricted from doing so after the plea deal.

Addressing the media at the Parliament House, Stella said, "Julian isn't allowed to request freedom of information, make information requests [to] the US government. But you can and I encourage you to ... so please do," The Guardian reported.

Stella also thanked everyone who campaigned for Julian's release, especially Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, before saying, "If Julian pleaded guilty in federal court in Saipan, it's because he was pleading guilty to committing journalism. ... This case criminalizes journalism – journalistic activity, standard journalistic activity of news gathering, and publishing. And so this is the reality of this prosecution. It's the case should never have been brought. But the important thing is that Julian is free ... And we can put this behind us."

Assange's plea deal with the U.S. also included deleting any unpublished material on the country in his possession or with Wikileaks. His U.S. lawyer, Barry Pollack, stated that the Saipan court conceded that no person in the world has been harmed by Wikileaks publication, and that Assange has complied with the court's direction to destroy any unpublished material.

The Wikileaks founder arrived in Canberra on Wednesday after the Saipan court freed him, as he had already served the prison term for espionage charges.

As Assange landed in Canberra to a cheering crowd, the Opposition warned the Labor against hailing him as a martyr and straining relations with the U.S., Reuters reported.

Albanese said he had "had a very warm discussion" with Assange over a phone call. He had always supported Assange's release before assuming office.

Welcoming Assange's release, opposition leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, stated, "he's no martyr and was never a political prisoner denied access to justice."

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, however, rejected the Opposition's concern that Albanese meeting Assange could strain Australia's ties with the U.S.

Assange is yet to come out with a statement on his release.