A UK judge has sentenced WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to 50 weeks in prison for skipping bail seven years ago and hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Judge Deborah Taylor said the 47-year-old hacker sought asylum as a “deliberate attempt to delay justice” and this has cost UK taxpayers twenty one million dollars.
An Australian citizen, Assange sought asylum in the South American country’s London embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations.
His lawyer Mark Summers told the courtroom that his client sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy because he was afraid of being mistreated and possibly sent to the US detention camp for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
