Image source, Reuters

Depp's attorney, Camille Vasquez, has thanked the jury and said the verdict confirms that "the claims against Johnny Depp are defamatory and unsupported by any evidence".

"We are... so grateful to the jury for their careful deliberation," she told reporters outside court.

Another Depp attorney, Benjamin Chew, said the Depp team was "most pleased that the trial has resonated for so many people in the public who value truth and justice".

"Now that the jury has reached its conclusive verdict, it's time to turn the page and look to the future," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

On paper, the Depp-Heard case was a defamation trial. But in reality, the six weeks of testimony centred largely on graphic and upsetting allegations of emotional, verbal and physical abuse.

Depp told jurors his ex-wife had demeaned and bullied him, and had a "need for violence".

Heard said she had suffered from numerous physical assaults from Depp, including disturbing allegations of sexual assault.

But it was Heard's accusations that were mocked online, where she was accused of fabricating her testimony and fake tears.

The response to her allegations has alarmed domestic abuse advocates.

The online abuse against Heard is "horrific", said sociologist Nicole Bedera, who specialises in sexual violence.

"Victims watching at home are harmed too," she said. "I think a lot of them will be more nervous about coming forward now".

Amber Heard's sister, Whitney Henriquez, attended today's conclusion of the six-week trial, and was seated behind the actress in court as the verdict was announced.

Henriquez testified during the trial that she had witnessed Depp abusing her sister.

Image source, Reuters

Depp's statement continues

"My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought.

"From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome.

"The best is yet to come and a new chapter has finally begun.

"Veritas numquam perit.

"Truth never perishes."

Depp's statement continues

"False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already travelled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.

"And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled."

David Sillito
Reporting from Fairfax, Virginia

Image source, Steve Helber/Reuters

Johnny Depp brought the six-week court case after an op-ed in the Washington Post in December 2018 in which Amber Heard said she had endured domestic violence during their 15-month marriage.

The jury has awarded Johnny Depp $15m (£12m) in damages.

Amber Heard has also won part of her libel case against Johnny Depp over articles in the Daily Mail, in which Johnny Depp’s former lawyer described her claims of domestic abuse as a hoax.

The jury has awarded Amber Heard $2m in damages.

The seven-person jury deliberated for 12 hours after being sent out to consider their verdicts on Friday.

The verdict was met with screams outside the court and chants of "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny".

Johnny Depp has released a statement following the jury's verdict:

"Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed.

"All in the blink of an eye."

Image source, Getty Images

The seven jurors who served in the Depp-Heard trial are likely to begin giving media interviews about their role in the case, according to US lawyer and former California judge Halim Dhanidina.

Speaking to the BBC, Dhanidina - now a partner at a criminal defence firm - said the jury members were no longer bound by rules that they must avoid speaking about the case.

"We'll be hearing from these jurors," he said.

Dhanidina added that the jury put "some thought" into the damages awarded to Heard and Depp, carefully considering the amounts before returning them to the judge.

Holly Honderich
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Getty Images

In short: they both won, but Johnny Depp won more.

• The jury ruled that Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which she described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse"
• Depp was awarded $15m in damages from Heard
• The jury also ruled in favour of Heard in one element of her countersuit, finding she was defamed by statements made by Depp's lawyer, Adam Waldman, to the Daily Mail, calling her abuse claims a "hoax"

• For this, she was awarded $2m in damages from Depp

The jury cleared Depp of two allegations levelled by Heard, but did find in one case that he had defamed her.

A lawyer for Depp told the Daily Mail that Heard had committed a "hoax" when she called police to their apartment in May 2016.

The foreperson was asked if the jury believed this to be false.

"Yes," she said, citing the jury's unanimous opinion.

"Do you find that Ms Heard has proven by clear and convincing evidence that the statement was made by actual malice?" the judge asked.

"Yes."

Depp was then ordered to pay $2m for the defamation.

Image source, Reuters

Holly Honderich
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Reuters

Amber Heard looked stone-faced as she heard the jury's verdict.

Though she was awarded $2m from Johnny Depp in compensatory damages, this will mean little now that she owes her ex-husband $15m in damages.

It's a stunning loss - defying many legal experts' predictions - made all the more surprising as it follows a resolute win for Heard in Depp's case in London two years ago.

Image source, Getty Images

Amber Heard has released a statement:

“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I'm heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.

I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women. It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.

I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.

I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly”.

The jury has found that Johnny Depp defamed Amber Heard - but it was through his attorney, Adam Waldman, and only in one of three counts.

She was awarded $2m in compensatory damages and nothing in punitive damages.

The jury has ruled that two of Heard's defamation claims against Johnny Depp were not fully proven.

The jury has awarded Depp $10m (£8m) in compensatory damages and $5m in punitive damages.

Outside the courtroom, there is celebration.

Fans of Johnny Depp shout his name as the jury reads their decision, siding with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor.

Image source, Reuters

The jury has found that Heard's statements about her marriage were "false" and conveyed "a defamatory implication" to people other than Depp.

They also found she acted with "actual malice".

The jury has found Heard defamed her ex-husband in a 2018 Washington Post article in which she wrote about being “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.

The foreperson of the jury is now running through all of the form's questions, and answering "yes" to each.

They include whether Heard's op-ed was false, defamatory, and specifically referencing her relationship with Depp.

Johnny Depp has won his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, whom he sued over claims of domestic abuse.

Judge Penney Azcarate has returned to the court room along with the jury.