Julian Assange released A COMPLICATED LEGACY

INSIDE THE AUSTRALIAN’S 14-YEAR FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

Walking into the arms of his family at Canberra Airport last week, the sight of Julian Assange - a free man - came unexpected to many.

After 14 years of detention in the United Kingdom, including five years in a maximum-security prison, Assange's arrival in his homeland was one of the final chapters in his decadeslong legal battle.

Assange, who turns 53 this week, was joined by his wife of two years, Stella, and his father John Shipton, as he took his first steps as a free man.

"I ask you please - to give us space, to give us privacy, to find our place, to let our family be a family before he can speak again at a time of his choosing," Stella, 40, said. "You have to understand what he's been through. He needs time."