WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at court in London on May 1, 2019 to be sentenced for bail violation. - Assange will be sentenced today for breaching a British court order seven years ago, when he took refuge in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden. (Photo by Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo credit should read DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images)
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS | AFP | Getty Images
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for ignoring a British court order seven years ago and taking refuge in Ecuador's London embassy.
Assange, arrested on April 11 after the Ecuadorian government gave him up, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday.
Assange sought the asylum of Ecuador's residence in 2012 in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden to face charges of sexual assault and rape.
The Swedish investigation has since lapsed but a lawyer for an alleged victim has suggested the charges could be resurrected.
Separately, the 47-year-old is facing extradition to the United States, where authorities wish to press charges related to the release of millions of classified documents by his website WikiLeaks.
On the same day that Assange was arrested and carried from the embassy, the U.S. Justice Department announced a criminal charge, accusing him of conspiring with former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a classified government computer.
Read the full U.S. indictment against Assange here:
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