WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks imprisonment on Wednesday morning for breaking British bail conditions on Wednesday as the US seeks his extradition on charges on computer hacking.
The defence had argued the case of Mr Assange presented “unusual, difficult and different circumstances” and that the defendant acted out of fear over the possibility of his extradition to Sweden and the US. He feared being moved to Guantanamo Bay, it was argued.
Therefore, the pursuit of asylum should be deemed a lawful act.
The judge rejected the argument that Mr Assange was living in prison conditions inside the embassy and said his actions had costed British taxpayers £16 million (Dh 76.7m). It is difficult to imagine a more serious example of this offence, the judge said, before issuing a sentence that falls slightly short of the fixed maximum of one year.
The hearing did not tackle the extradition request.
Mr Assange's supporters broke court rules to shout “we are right behind you” as the Wikileaks founder awaited sentencing. Supporters outside the courtroom also greeted the accused by chanting slogans calling for his release.
Mr Assange was arrested on April 11 after Ecuador's government ended his seven years of self-imposed exile and expelled him from its embassy. He was dragged out of the compound looking unshaven and unkempt. On Wednesday, he appeared in court sporting short hair and a trimmed beard.
Following his arrest, the Ecuadorian president said: “We cannot allow our house, the house that opened its doors, to become a centre for spying. This activity violates asylum conditions. Our decision is not arbitrary but is based on international law.”
Ecuador accused Mr Assange of spying on the country by obtaining classified files without permission.
He now faces extradition to the US, where he stands accused of conspiring to hack military computers.
The 47-year-old Australian was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in April after being arrested at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
At the hearing, District Judge Michael Snow remanded Assange in custody and branded him a "narcissist who cannot get beyond his own selfish interests".
The judge said: "This is a case which merits the maximum sentence, which is 12 months in the Crown Court."
Mr Assange's lawyer Jennifer Robinson said the accused had a "very difficult time" at the Ecuadorian embassy, calling the its decision to hand Mr Assange over to British police an "unlawful and extraordinary act".
Mr Assange was accused of sexual offences in Sweden in 2010 sought refuge in at the Ecuadorian Embassy on June 19 2012 after exhausting his legal options against an extradition order.
The US Justice Department said Mr Assange was charged with conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to gain access to a government computer as part of a 2010 leak by WikiLeaks of hundreds of thousands of US military reports about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and American diplomatic communications.
Mr Assange was accused of helping Ms Manning hack a password on a Pentagon computer system nine years ago.
Cracking the password would have allowed Ms Manning to log on to the computers under a username that did not belong to her, protecting her identity.
Wikileaks called the sentence "as shocking as it is vindictive," citing a concern Mr Assange would not receive a fair hearing.
