Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching his bail conditions.<\/p>\n
The 47-year-old was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act last month after his arrest at the Ecuadorian Embassy.<\/p>\n
He took refuge in the London embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.<\/p>\n
In a letter read to the court, Assange said he had found himself “struggling with difficult circumstances”.<\/p>\n
He apologised to those who “consider I’ve disrespected them”, a packed Southwark Crown Court heard.<\/p>\n
“I did what I thought at the time was the best or perhaps the only thing that I could have done,” he said.<\/p>\n
In mitigation, Mark Summers QC had said his client was “gripped” by fears of rendition to the US over the years because of his work with whistle-blowing website Wikileaks.<\/p>\n
“As threats rained down on him from America, they overshadowed everything,” he said.<\/p>\n
Sentencing him, Judge Deborah Taylor told Assange it was difficult to envisage a more serious example of the offence.<\/p>\n
“By hiding in the embassy you deliberately put yourself out of reach, while remaining in the UK,” she said.<\/p>\n
She said this had “undoubtedly” affected the progress of the Swedish proceedings.<\/p>\n
His continued residence at the embassy and bringing him to justice had cost taxpayers \u00a316m, she added.<\/p>\n
“Whilst you may have had fears as to what may happen to you, nonetheless you had a choice, and the course of action you chose was to commit this offence,” she concluded.<\/p>\n
As Assange was taken down to the cells, he raised a fist in defiance to his supporters in the public gallery behind him.<\/p>\n
They raised their fists in solidarity and directed shouts of “shame on you” towards the court.<\/p>\n
Assange now faces US federal conspiracy charges related to one of the largest leaks of government secrets.<\/p>\n
The UK will decide whether to extradite Assange to the US in response to allegations that he conspired with former US intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to download classified databases.<\/p>\n
He faces up to five years in a US prison if convicted.<\/p>\n
Wikileaks has published thousands of classified documents covering everything from the film industry to national security and war.<\/p>\n
I apologise unreservedly to those who consider that I have disrespected them by the way I have pursued my case.<\/p>\n
This is not what I wanted or intended.<\/p>\n
I found myself struggling with terrifying circumstances for which neither I nor those from whom I sought advice could work out any remedy.<\/p>\n
I did what I thought at the time was the best and perhaps the only thing that could be done – which I hoped might lead to a legal resolution being reached between Ecuador and Sweden that would protect me from the worst of my fears.<\/p>\n
I regret the course that this took; the difficulties were instead compounded and impacted upon very many others.<\/p>\n
Whilst the difficulties I now face may have become even greater, nevertheless it is right for me to say this now.<\/p>\n
Assange was dramatically arrested by UK police on 11 April after Ecuador abruptly withdrew its asylum.<\/p>\n
At a court hearing that same day, he was remanded in custody and called a “narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interest” by district judge Michael Snow.<\/p>\n
Days later, Swedish prosecutors said they were considering reopening the investigation into rape and sexual assault allegations against him.<\/p>\n
At the time, Assange said he had had entirely consensual sex with two women while on a trip to Stockholm to give a lecture.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors dropped the rape investigation in 2017 because they were unable to formally notify him of allegations while he was staying in the embassy.<\/p>\n
Two other charges of molestation and unlawful coercion had to be dropped in 2015 because time had run out.<\/p>\n
More than 70 UK MPs and peers have signed a letter urging Home Secretary Sajid Javid to ensure Assange faces authorities in Sweden if they want his extradition.<\/p>\n
By BBC correspondent Andy Moore, at Southwark Crown Court<\/strong><\/p>\n As Julian Assange arrived at court from Belmarsh High Security prison, photographers got a picture of him defiantly pumping his fist.<\/p>\n He’s still got a beard but it’s been trimmed – it’s not the white, bushy beard he was wearing when he was hauled out of the Ecuadorean Embassy last month.<\/p>\n There’s big international interest, and more than a dozen TV cameras outside.<\/p>\n Journalists had to queue for two hours before the case opened to get a ticket to Court Number One, or to an overflow court where there was a videolink to the live proceedings.<\/p>\n Supporters of Assange are outside court making their voices heard – one has been reading from her notes saying Assange is a political prisoner.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"