Bitcoiner Contributes to Julian Assange’s Freedom, Pays $500K Debt in BTC

A Bitcoiner has helped Julian Assange return home debt-free after 14 years of fighting against U.S. extradition.

• WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is free after a 14-year battle against extradition to the United States
• Assange is required to pay $520,000 to the Australian government for the chartering of flight VJ199 to travel to Saipan and Australia
• An anonymous Bitcoiner donated over 8 Bitcoin worth around $500,000 to help Assange’s family pay off the debt

Bitcoiner Helps in Assange’s Final Flight to Freedom

In an interview, Stella Assange, Assange’s wife, stated that “freedom comes at a cost.” Stella started a crowdfunding page to help the jailed founder with his debts after his return home to Australia.

The donation link was posted by Stella Assange, and within 10 hours, an anonymous Bitcoiner paid over 8 Bitcoin (BTC) to the fund, almost clearing the goal of $520,000.

The single Bitcoin donation was the largest donation to the fund, more than all other donations in all currencies combined. As a result, Assange will arrive in Australia debt free.

Assange Pleads Guilty, Walks Out of Court a Free Man

At Assange’s court appearance on June 26, Judge Ramona Manglona sentenced him to five years and two months in prison for pleading guilty to espionage charges.

However, Assange has already served the exact amount of prison time in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition. As a result, he walked from the courtroom a free man.

Assange then took a private flight and arrived in Canberra, Australia.

Assange argued that the Espionage Act conflicted with First Amendment rights in the U.S. Constitution, acknowledging that encouraging sources to provide classified information for publication could be illegal. As part of the plea deal, he was required to destroy all classified information provided to WikiLeaks.