‘Julian Assange jailed for 50 weeks for breaching bail in 2012’, the Guardian, May Day, 2019 (two weeks short of the maximum permitted by law, as I understand it)
“A judge largely rejected the mitigating factors put forward by lawyers for the WikiLeaks founder, who had also written a letter in which he expressed regret for his actions but claimed he had been left with no choice.
In the letter, read out in court by his lawyer, Mark Summers, Assange said: “I apologise unreservedly to those who consider that I have disrespected them by the way I have pursued my case. This is not what I wanted or intended.” (the rest of his letter is there)
“The 47-year-old was appearing at Southwark crown court, where Judge Deborah Taylor said that he had engaged in a “deliberate attempt to evade justice”.
To gasps from a few dozen Assange supporters in the public gallery, the judge said that a number of factors put his refusal to surrender in the highest tier – category A – of the offence.”
“She also told him that even though he did cooperate initially with the investigation “it was not for you to decide the nature of your cooperation with the Swedish investigation” and his continued residency in the embassy had been an attempt to delay and thwart the process.”
Too galling hypocritical for words:
“The judge also referred to the expenditure of £16m of taxpayers’ money on policing resources outside the embassy for the period in which he was there.
“It is essential that no one is above or beyond the reach of the law,” she concluded, before sentencing Assange to 50 weeks.”
Julian’s extreme rendition hearing at the Westminster Masturbation Court will be tomorrow, and supporters are being urge to gather there at 9:00 a.m.
Popular Resistance seems not to have updated their ‘Julian Assange Arrested, Take Action Now’, April 11 page, but likely will in a newsletter today, but it lists all the UK embassies in the US where support rallies will be held.
On to some of the Tweets on the heart-piercing #NoExtradition hashtag:
(cross-posted at caucus99percent.com)
davidly
Greyson Smythe
LeMoyne
juliania2
ohiobarbarian
stephenadavis1
wendyedavis
café babylon 