Assange backers ordered to pay up after bail violations

A British judge yesterday ordered supporters of Julian Assange to pay thousands of pounds they promised for his bail because the WikiLeaks founder violated the conditions for his release.

Assange, 41, violated a condition to report to a police station daily when he sought refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has been holed up since Jun 19 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over sex crimes allegations.

The WikiLeaks founder and his supporters claim the Swedish sex case is part of a Washington-orchestrated plot to make him stand trial in the United States over his work with WikiLeaks, which has published thousands of secret US diplomatic cables and other documents. Both Sweden and the US reject that claim.