Key Takeaways
- An anonymous Bitcoiner donated over 8 Bitcoin to help Julian Assange.
- Assange was released from Belmarsh prison on June 24 after a plea agreement.
- Assange pleaded guilty to breaching the U.S. Espionage Act and was freed immediately.
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is finally free after a 14-year struggle against extradition to the United States.
An anonymous Bitcoiner donated over 8 Bitcoin, worth around $500,000, to assist Assange’s family in settling debts from his travel and legal expenses.
On June 24, Assange was released from the high-security Belmarsh prison in the UK after reaching a plea agreement with U.S. authorities. Following his release, he left the UK on a private plane, heading to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory. Assange appeared in a Saipan district court on June 26, where he pleaded guilty to one charge of breaching the U.S. Espionage Act by leaking classified documents.
In an interview, Assange’s wife Stella noted that:
Freedom comes at a cost.
To cover the $520,000 debt for the forced chartering of a flight to Saipan and Australia, she started a crowdfunding page.
The donation link posted on June 25 quickly received support, and within 10 hours, an anonymous Bitcoiner contributed over 8 Bitcoin, nearly meeting the fundraising goal. Assange has also received over 300,000 British pounds ($380,000) in fiat donations.
At his court appearance, Judge Ramona Manglona sentenced Assange to five years and two months in prison for the espionage charges. However, having already served this time in the UK, Assange was released immediately. He subsequently flew to Canberra, Australia, arriving debt-free.
