Julian Assange is facing extradition to the US following his arrest at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, charged with involvement in a computer hacking conspiracy that led to one of the “largest compromises of classified information in US history”.
Hours after he was carried out of the mission in Knightsbridge by police, the WikiLeaks founder was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of jumping bail on an 2010 extradition order to Sweden. He faces up to 12 months in prison.
US authorities are seeking extradition of the 47-year-old, alleging he helped former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leak a treasure trove of official documents and cables. The US justice department indictment, filed in March last year but unsealed yesterday, accused Mr Assange of helping Ms Manning try to crack a password to Pentagon computers.