On Monday, a British judge rejected the US request for the extradition of Australian editor, publisher and activist Julian Assange. Following the decision of the British judge, the current President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has offered Assange political asylum in the country. Meanwhile, Wikileaks has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for crypto assets since the founders were arrested in April 2019.
US extradition request for Julian Assange denied
The world recently watched a British judge deny the United States’ request for the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The activist told the court that the state of harsh U.S. prisons would likely result in him killing himself.
“I think Mr. Assange’s mental state is such that it would be depressing to extradite him to the United States of America,” said the judge after rejecting the US application. Assange was arrested on April 11, 2019 and is charged with espionage over the publication of classified U.S. documents.
After the judge’s rejection, the notorious whistleblower Edward Snowden tweeted about the decision not to let the US take Assange. “Let this be the end,” Snowden tweeted after hearing the news.
In addition, the incumbent President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has offered Assange political asylum. Obrador told a daily press conference that the British judge’s decision to reject the US government was a milestone in justice, adding that Assange “is a journalist and deserves another chance”.
“I am in favor of Assange being pardoned. I will also ask the Secretary of State to initiate appropriate procedures to ask the UK government about the possibility of Julian Assange being released and Mexico offering political asylum,” Obrador said.
Crypto donations of $ 800,000
Additionally, the cryptocurrency community has sent Assange and Wikileaks quite a bit of crypto funding since his arrest in 2019. At the time of publication, the Wikileaks BTC donation address holds 19.66 BTC, or over $ 600,000 at today’s exchange rates.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) advocates donated BCH 222.99, or over $ 87,000 at current BCH prices. The Wikileaks Litecoin (LTC) address contains 140 LTC or over $ 21,000 in Litecoin donations. 76.87 unshielded zcash (ZEC) was sent to the Wikileaks address today, valued at $ 4,350.
Wikileaks also accepts private transmissions from zcash (ZEC) and monero (XMR). In relation to donations from Ethereum (ETH), the organization has raised over 89 ethers, or over $ 87,000 at today’s ETH exchange rates.
Since his arrest in 2019, Assange has spent his time in the maximum security Belmarsh prison. If Assange is to be extradited to the US, he faces 18 cyberattack crimes for hacking government computer systems. Assange is also charged with espionage and the sum of the US charges could result in Assange being sentenced to 175 years in prison.
Of all of the cryptocurrency donations Wikileaks received, most of the coins were kept for a long period of time. Out of a total of 24.21 BTC donations sent to nonprofits, Wikileaks has only issued 4.55 BTC ($ 140,000) to date, and many other coins have been held long term as well.
Without knowing how much shielded zcash (ZEC) and monero (XMR) was sent to Wikileaks, the addresses that display donations suggest that the organization now holds over $ 800,000 worth of crypto donations.
What do you think of the British judge who opposes the extradition of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange by the US? Let us know what you think on this matter in the comments section below.
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Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Assange, Assange Trial, BCH, Belmarsh Prison, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Assange, Bitcoin Cash, British Judge, BTC, Edward Snowden, United Kingdom, Julian Assange, Mexico, Mexico President, British Judge, British Judge Assange, USA, US extradition, Wikileaks, Zcash
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