Assange Ordered Out of Jail on Bail
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given a bit of a break on Tuesday when a British judge ordered that he be released from jail for the small bail fee of $310,000. However, this small measure of freedom comes with a few strings -- and an electronic monitor -- attached.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given a bit of a break on Tuesday when a British judge ordered that he be released from jail for the small bail fee of $310,000. However, this small measure of freedom comes with a few strings — and an electronic monitor — attached.
For his part, Assange appears to be uncowed by his incarceration and released a statement from prison urging support for his site and his cause. –KA
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...The New York Times:
Judge Howard Riddle ordered that Mr. Assange appear again in court on Jan. 11. He also said that between then and now he must reside at Ellingham Hall, a Georgian mansion in Bungay, in eastern England, owned by Vaughan Smith, the founder of a club for journalists. Mr. Assange must spend every night at the mansion and will be electronically tagged so the police can track his movements, the judge said.
Additionally, Mr. Assange will be under curfew every day from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be required to report daily to the police from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. His passport is already with the police and, under the terms of his bail, he is not permitted to travel abroad.
Judge Riddle said he granted bail on Tuesday, after denying it a week ago, because Mr. Assange was now able to provide an address where he would be staying. The judge described his earlier decision as “marginal” and said that Mr. Assange had now met that condition of his bail “handsomely.”
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