OP is implying government or its contractors is the one grifting, not Assange . Basically forcing a large bill on a person who has no choice but to accept .
It is not grift though, it does cost in that ball park for international private long distance flights in the 10,000+ mile range . Planes that can do this like say gulfstream V would seat 15-20 people , so like 25k per seat , it is not that much more expensive than a first class ticket cost wise if you think about it
If you are going to beg for donations to pay for your private jet then I dont care if you are Mother Teresa, I am going to wonder if you are just grifting.
Wikileaks has $250mil in bitcoin, they could chip in a bit surely?
not the OP, but I think they meant to imply that the AU government is grifting. It does look like attaching a $520k bill to the man's freedom. Totally not part of the punishment...
That depends how dangerous you want air travel to be. The world is currently spending way too much on air travel security, the number of deaths is too low compared to automobile travel.
