Julian Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in a UK prison Wednesday for violating his bail conditions when he holed up in London’s Ecuadorian embassy to avoid arrest, according to new reports.
The Wikileaks co-founder, 47, was found guilty of breaching the UK’s Bail Act last month when he entered the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.
Assange saluted with his fist as he arrived at at Southwark Crown Court Wednesday for his sentencing, the Daily Express reported.
Before announcing the sentence, Judge Deborah Taylor told Assange that he cost British taxpayers 16 million pounds — nearly $21 million — adding that “no one is beyond the reach of the law.”
“It’s difficult to envisage a more serious example of this offence,” she said, according to the Express. “It was not for you to decide your participation in the investigation.”
“You had a choice and the course of action you chose was to commit an offense,” the judge added, according to CNN. “You’ve not surrendered willingly … you would not have come voluntarily before the court.”
She rejected Assange’s claim for leniency, argued that Assange deserved the maximum sentence of one year because of the severity of the offense.
Assange stood expressionless with his hands clasped as the judge read the sentence. Supporters yelled “Shame on you!” at the judge as Assange was escorted away.
Assange will appear for a Thursday extradition hearing for allegedly helping former Army intelligence specialist Chelsea Manning access U.S. Defense Department computers back in 2010, enabling her to access classified information, according to the report.
With Post wires
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