Assange sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for jumping bail in UK
A British court sentenced WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to 50 weeks for skipping bail. The activist also faces a court hearing on extradition to Washington where he is wanted for “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.”
The Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday sentenced Assange to almost a year for “violating bail conditions.”Last month, he was formally convicted of skipping bail in the UK in 2012 when he was wanted over a rape allegation in Sweden, Russia Today reports.
Assange was arrested on April 11 after, resisting and yelling, he was dragged out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He had claimed asylum there for several years out of fear that the British authorities would hand him over to Washington.
In the US, he is charged with “conspiracy” after working with Chelsea Manning, the whistleblower who obtained classified documents that were subsequently published through WikiLeaks.
The extradition case will be decided in a separate court hearing on Thursday.