WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is free after a 14-year battle against extradition to the United States. In a final effort to secure his freedom, an anonymous Bitcoiner donated over 8 Bitcoin worth around $500,000 to help Assange’s family pay off the debt incurred by his travel and settlement expenses.
On June 24, Assange was released from the high-security Belmarsh prison in the United Kingdom after reaching a plea agreement with U.S. authorities. Shortly after his release, he departed the U.K. on a private plane from a London airport to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory.
Assange appeared in a district court in Saipan on June 26, where he pleaded guilty to one charge of breaching the U.S. Espionage Act by leaking classified documents. The journey was planned to prevent Assange from touching foot on American soil.
Bitcoiner helps in Assange’s final flight to freedom
In an interview, Stella Assange, Assange’s wife, stated that “freedom comes at a cost.” Assange is required to pay $520,000 to the Australian government for the “forced” chartering of flight VJ199 to travel to Saipan and Australia.
Stella started a crowdfunding page to help the jailed founder with his debts after his return home to Australia.
The donation link was posted by Stella Assange on June 25, and within 10 hours, an anonymous Bitcoiner paid over 8 Bitcoin (BTC) to the fund, almost clearing the goal of $520,000. He has also received over 300,000 British pounds ($380,000) in fiat donations so far.
The single Bitcoin donation was the largest donation to the fund, more than all other donations in all currencies combined. As a result, Assange will arrive in Australia debt free.
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Assange pleads guilty, walks out of court a free man
At Assange’s court appearance on June 26, Judge Ramona Manglona sentenced hi to five years and two months in prison for pleading guilty to espionage charges.
However, Assange has already served the exact amount of prison time in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition. As a result, he walked from the courtroom a free man.
Assange then took a private flight and arrived in Canberra, Australia, at 9:39 am UTC.
Assange argued that the Espionage Act, under which he was charged, conflicted with First Amendment rights in the U.S. Constitution.
However, he acknowledged that encouraging sources to provide classified information for publication could be illegal. As part of the plea deal, he was required to destroy all classified information provided to WikiLeaks.
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