Julian Assange's Father Tells LBC That UK Judges Are "Vindictive"

2 May 2019, 11:44 | Updated: 2 May 2019, 11:58

Julian Assange's father accused UK judges of "resentment" towards his son after he was sentenced to 50 weeks in jail.

Julian Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in jail yesterday for breaching his bail terms.

He'd been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy to avoid being extradited to Sweden where he would face charges of sexual assault.

He was arrested last month when Ecuador revoked his citizenship and invited the Metropolitan Police to arrest him.

John Shipton, Assange's father, told Nick Ferrari he was disappointed with the decision and concerned about the treatment of his son.

He said: "I'm outraged ... at the treatment at the sentencing.

"It's very unusual for a simple administrative charge to receive the maximum sentence and we feel that this is sort of vindictive on behalf of the judiciary.

"The judiciary at that level seems to have some sort of resentment towards Julian."

Nick also asked Mr Shipton whether he was worried about his son being extradited to the US, where he would face charges for releasing classified documents through Wikileaks.

Describing his son as a gentle man, Mr Shipton said: "The immediate problem is that the extradition hearings will probably go on for three to five years, up to ten years. So our immediate concern is that Julian faces yet another huge number of years in confinement".

He also told LBC: "The reason why Julian was in the embassy is now clear to everybody; the United States wanted to extradite him and charge a publisher and a journalist".

Today it was announced that Assange would have to face a hearing after an extradition request from the United States. He will appear at Westminster Crown Court.