Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been liberated following a prolonged legal struggle against extradition to the US, where he faced potential life imprisonment on espionage charges.

Below are some significant events in his life up to now:

July 1971 – Assange is born in Townsville, Australia, to theatre-involved parents. He earns recognition as a teenager for his skills in computer programming.

1995 – Assange receives a fine for computer hacking but avoids imprisonment, with the condition that he does not re-offend.

2006 – Assange establishes WikiLeaks, an internet platform for leaking classified or sensitive information.

April 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes a leaked video showing a US military helicopter firing on 11 civilians, including two journalists, during the Iraq war. More shots are fired at a van attempting to rescue the injured, causing a global media uproar.

July 2010 – WikiLeaks releases over 91,000 documents, primarily secret US military records concerning the Afghanistan war.

August 2010 – Swedish authorities issue an arrest warrant for Assange following rape accusations by one woman and molestation claims by another. This warrant is later revoked due to insufficient evidence for the rape charge. Assange denies all allegations.

September 2010 – Sweden's top prosecutor reopens the rape investigation. Assange relocates to the UK.

October 2010 – WikiLeaks releases 400,000 classified military documents about the Iraq war and subsequently thousands of US diplomatic cables, revealing candid perspectives on foreign leaders and security threats.

November 2010 – A Swedish court demands Assange's arrest over rape allegations, which he refutes. He is detained in the UK later on a European arrest warrant but is freed on bail.

December 2010 – Assange surrenders to London police and is held pending an extradition hearing. The UK High Court grants him bail.

February 2011 – London’s Westminster Magistrates Court orders Assange’s extradition to Sweden. He files an appeal.

June 2012 – The British Supreme Court rejects his final appeal, and five days later, he seeks asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, which Ecuador grants in August, permitting him to stay legally with the status to eventually live in Ecuador.

July 2014 – Assange's plea to nullify the Swedish arrest warrant is denied. A Stockholm judge sustains the warrant related to sexual offence allegations against two women.

August 2015 – Swedish prosecutors drop some allegations due to the statute of limitations, although a rape investigation continues.

October 2015 – The Metropolitan Police terminate their 24-hour watch outside the Ecuadorian embassy but state they will apprehend Assange if he exits, ending a costly police operation estimated at millions.

April 2017 – Then CIA Director Mike Pompeo brands WikiLeaks as "a non-state hostile intelligence service frequently supported by state actors like Russia”.

May 2017 – Swedish authorities close their investigation, citing challenges in advancing while Assange remains within the embassy.

April 2019 – Assange is extracted from the embassy and is apprehended after Ecuador revokes his political asylum.

May 2019 – He is sentenced to 50 weeks' imprisonment by a UK court for bail violation, serving part of the term but staying jailed pending extradition trials. Meanwhile, Swedish prosecutors reopen their investigation seeking his extradition.

June 2019 – The US Department of Justice formally requests the UK for Assange's extradition over charges of conspiring to hack US government systems and violating the espionage law.

November 2019 – Swedish prosecutors end their rape investigation, citing insufficient evidence partly due to time elapsed.

February 2020 – The initial phase of UK extradition hearings begins and adjourns after one week, intended to resume in May, later postponed to September due to COVID-19.

January 2021 – A London court judge, Vanessa Baraitser, rules that extraditing Assange to the US would be excessively oppressive due to his fragile mental health and high suicide risk, yet denies him bail, labeling him a flight risk.

July 2021 – The High Court permits the US to appeal the decision blocking Assange’s extradition.

July 2021 – Ecuador officially revokes Assange’s Australian citizenship over inconsistencies and document alterations in his naturalization process.

December 2021 – The High Court rules US assurances adequate to ensure Assange's humane treatment.

March 2022 – The UK Supreme Court refuses Assange's appeal against his extradition.

June 2022 – The British government orders Assange’s extradition to the US, prompting an appeal from him.

May 2023 – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese advises Assange’s release, arguing his continued detention serves no purpose.

June 2023 – A High Court judge rules Assange unable to appeal his extradition.

February 2024 – Assange’s legal team initiates a last-ditch effort to prevent his extradition.

March 2024 – Two High Court judges in London give the US three weeks to provide additional assurances, including a death penalty exemption, before deciding on Assange's appeal rights.

May 2024 – The judges rule Assange may appeal anew on grounds of free-speech protections and potential disadvantages as a non-US citizen.

June 2024 – The US Justice Department states in court that Assange can go free in exchange for a guilty plea to an espionage charge related to unauthorized acquisition and distribution of classified defense information.