WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is free after 14 years of fighting extradition to the United States. In a last-ditch effort to secure his freedom, an anonymous Bitcoin user donated more than eight bitcoins, worth $500,000, to help Assange’s family pay off debts incurred due to his fees. travel and establishment.
On June 24, Assange was released from Belmarsh maximum security prison in the United Kingdom after reaching a plea deal with the United States. Shortly after his release, he left the country on a private plane from London Airport to the US Pacific territory of Saipan.
On June 26, Assange appeared in a Saipan district court where he pleaded guilty to one count of violating the U.S. Espionage Act by disclosing classified documents. The trip was planned to prevent Assange from entering US territory.
Bitcoiner helps Julian Assange on his final journey to freedom
In an interview, Stella Assange, wife of Julian Assange, said that “freedom has a price.” Julian Assange must pay $520,000 to the Australian government for the “forced” charter of flight VJ199 to travel to Saipan and Australia.
Stella launched a crowdfunding page to help the jailed founder pay off his debts after returning to his native Australia.
The donation link was posted by Stella Assange on June 25, and within 10 hours, an anonymous Bitcoiner had contributed over 8 BTC to the fund, nearly reaching the $520,000 goal. He has also received over £300,000 ($380,000) in paper donations so far.
The individual donation of Bitcoin was the largest donation to the fund and more than all other donations in all currencies. Thanks to this donation, Assange will arrive in Australia debt-free.
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Assange pleads guilty and leaves court a free man
Earlier on June 26, Assange appeared in the U.S. District Court in the Northern Mariana Islands and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose secret U.S. national defense documents.
U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona sentenced Assange to five years and two months in prison for his espionage conviction.
However, Assange has already served his prison sentence in the UK while fighting extradition. As a result, he walked out of the courtroom a free man.
Assange then took his own flight and arrived in Canberra at 09:39 UTC.
Assange said the Espionage Act, under which he was charged, conflicted with his rights under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
However, he acknowledged that it might be illegal to encourage sources to provide confidential information for publication. As part of the plea deal, he was to destroy all classified information provided to WikiLeaks.
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