Evie Fordham, DCNF
A British judge set a May 2 date for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange’s extradition hearing after he was arrested Thursday in London’s Ecuadorian embassy after Ecuador withdrew Assange’s asylum.
The judge also found Assange guilty of breaking bail conditions in 2012 when he sought refuge in the embassy rather than surrendering to authorities, reported CNN. Assange’s lawyer argued the Australian national broke bail because he would not have been given a fair trial, but the judge did not buy it and called Assange a “narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interest.”
The United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police said the arrest occurred partly to extradite Assange to the U.S., where he has been charged with conspiracy to commit computer hacking on a classified computer relating to his role in helping Chelsea Manning steal tens of thousands of diplomatic cables in 2010. Manning faced decades in prison but received a sentence commutation from former President Barack Obama.
Assange, 47, had been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years until Ecuador withdrew his asylum.
He first holed up in the embassy when Sweden tried to extradite him because of sexual assault allegations, reported BBC. That case has been dropped, but Assange remained in the embassy to avoid possible extradition to countries like the U.S., which has an interest in questioning him.
BREAKING: #Assange removed from embassy – video pic.twitter.com/qsHy7ZVPg5
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) April 11, 2019
Follow Evie on Twitter @eviefordham.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- The Florida candidate laser-focused on eradicating horrific animal crimes - March 22, 2024
- Sabo: ‘Rush was our GOAT, there was no equal and he made it look easy’ - February 18, 2024
- Dana Bash appears to want to crawl out of her own skin when Ramaswamy ‘goes there’ on J6 - December 7, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!