WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange was reportedly ordered by a U.K. judge Friday to remain jailed once he finishes serving a 50-week sentence for breaching bail.
Ruling from Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said Assange has a “history of absconding” and is at risk of evading a U.S. extradition request if released from prison, BBC reported.
“In my view, I have substantial ground for believing if I release you, you will abscond again,” the judge ruled, according to the outlet.
Assange, an Australian native, was living in the U.K. under house arrest in 2012 when he entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London seeking asylum. He was punted from the property in April and subsequently found guilty of violating the terms of his bail conditions by entering nearly seven years earlier. He has been jailed ever since at Belmarsh Prison in London, serving a nearly yearlong sentence.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. unsealed criminal charges against Assange shortly after his latest arrest, and a hearing to decide whether he should be extradited to stand trial is currently scheduled to take place in London early next year.
Representatives for Assange and WikiLeaks did not immediately answer messages requesting comment.
Assange, 48, is charged in the U.S. in connection with the solicitation and publication by WikiLeaks of classified U.S. documents. His legal team has previously described the prosecution as “an outrageous and full-frontal assault on journalistic rights.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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