WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching his bail by seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy.
He spent almost seven years living in the building in west London, having gone into hiding there as he faced allegations of sexual offences which he denies.
Assange was dramatically dragged out by police last month and was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court today.
A letter from the 47-year-old was read out by his lawyer Mark Summers QC, before Judge Deborah Taylor passed sentence.
The founder of the whistleblowing website wrote in the letter: "I apologise unreservedly to those who consider that I have disrespected them by the way I pursued my case.
"I found myself struggling with difficult circumstances.
"I did what I thought at the time was the best or perhaps the only thing that I could have done.