Freed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stands to earn millions of dollars from his time in custody, despite Australian laws that deprive convicted criminals of the opportunity to monetize their crimes, writes the Daily Mail on June 28.
Although Assange has been convicted of espionage by a US court, he can probably make a fortune writing a book, giving talks and selling film rights to his life story, the article concludes after interviewing experts.
The famous publicist and manager Max Markson estimated Assange’s possible income. Thus, a contract to publish a book or shoot a film or a television series would bring in at least 10 million dollars (855 million rubles), and the journalist could earn another 500 thousand dollars (43 million rubles) for each of his personal appearances.
“You will get what you wantMarkson said. — He will have rivers of gold and he deserves it all. “Everyone will want to talk to him, listen to him and interview him, and they will pay him a lot of money for it.”
One legal expert considered it unlikely that laws previously used to prevent criminals from profiting financially from their crimes would apply to Assange. The offense she admitted to committing has no relation to Australia and there is no exact equivalent in local law.
On June 26, Assange pleaded guilty to the only criminal charge under the US Espionage Act: conspiracy to obtain and disclose classified national defense documents.
That same night he flew home to Australia and accepted a plea deal that was approved during a hearing in a U.S. federal court on the Pacific island of Saipan. He was sentenced to the same time he had already served in Britain’s maximum-security Belmarsh prison (62 months) and was barred from entering the United States without a special permit.
Also read: Assange’s lawyer welcomes Wikileaks founder’s admission of guilt
Source: Rossa Primavera
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