WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at court in London on May 1, 2019 to be sentenced for bail violation.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sentenced Wednesday to 50 weeks in jail for ignoring a British court order seven years ago by taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Assange, 47, arrested on April 11 after the Ecuadorian government gave him up, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Assange sought asylum in the embassy in 2012 in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden to face charges of sexual assault and rape.

The Swedish investigation has since lapsed but a lawyer for an alleged victim has suggested the charges could be resurrected.