A British judge sentenced Julian Assange to 50 years in prison on bail for his extradition to Sweden in 2012 on charges of sexual assault, a blow to Wikileaks founder before a hearing on whether he should be sent to the United States to face trial for secret documents leaking almost a decade ago .
He was sentenced this morning at Southwark Crown in London.
Julian Assange will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court at 10:30AM tomorrow for 'violating his bail conditions' whilst seeking & obtaining political asylum. On Thursday at 10AM there will be a hearing in Westminster Magistrate Court on the US extradition request.— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) ٣٠ أبريل ٢٠١٩
Assange read a letter to the court during his sentencing in which he said he'd been "struggling with difficult circumstances," according to BBC report.
"I did what I thought at the time was the best or perhaps the only thing that I could have done," Assange said.
Assange had taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy after being released on bail for seven years. He was taken by the British police from inside the embassy last month and accused by the United States of responsibility for one of the largest leaks of confidential information.
Judge Deborah Taylor said Julian Assange used his release on bail to break the law and express his disdain for British justice. Taylor confirmed to Assange that his long stay at the Long Embassy in Ecuador cost taxpayers in the UK £ 16 million, equivalent to 18 million euros.
The Wikileaks founder was arrested by British police from inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London last month while the United States accused him of responsibility for one of the biggest leaks of classified information. Assange was convicted in March of not appearing in court after his release on bail in 2012 following an extradition order to Sweden for alleged rape and sexual assault.
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