WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange sentenced to jail for almost a year

WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in jail by a court in London on Wednesday for breaching his bail conditions. The Southwark crown court in London found Assange guilty of breaching the Bail Act to avoid extradition to Sweden over a rape allegation, which he has denied.

The 47-year-old was arrested from the Ecuadorean embassy by British police on April 11. He had been staying at the embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning in a sexual assault investigation.

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Wikileaks had claimed that Ecuador terminated Assange's political asylum in violation of international laws, which has been refuted by the South American country. The ties between Assange and Ecuador have been strained after he was accused by the latter of publishing details from the personal life of nation's President Lenon Moreno.

The Australian national faces a separate court hearing on Thursday over a US extradition request on charges related to one of the largest leaks of government secrets. He faces a sentence up to 5 years in a US prison if convicted.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar