World

Wikileaks: Assange sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions

WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail conditions in the UK.

The 47-year-old was arrested in London last month for skipping bail in 2012 over fears of being extradited to Sweden on charges of rape and sexual assault.

To avoid extradition, he sought asylum from Ecuador’s embassy in the UK capital and was welcomed by the country’s then president Rafael Correa.

But increased tensions with Correa’s successor Lenin Moreno, who said Assange was “discourteous and aggressive” during his seven-year tenure inside the embassy, led to his asylum being withdrawn.

Judge Deborah Taylor scolded Assange as she delivered the sentence on Wednesday morning, saying his extended stay had cost UK taxpayers £16 million (€18.5 million), and he was “not above the law”.

“You were not living under prison conditions,” she added. “You could have left anytime.”

Protesters outside Southwark Crown Court chanted in anger and “disgust” after the sentence was announced.

“Freedom of speech, free Julian Assange,” the protesters chanted.

Assange is also wanted in the US over an investigation into WikiLeaks’ release of classified documents concerning the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in April that the charge related specifically over conspiracy to commit computer intrusion “by cracking a password” with US whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who served 7 years in prison for the huge data leak.

A hearing on the US extradition request is due to be held. on Thursday.