Concluding a legal battle which began about nine years ago, electronic payment giants Valitor have agreed to pay damages to Wikileaks after illegally blocking payments to the site in 2010.
The case begins in 2010, when the company DataCell began handling donations to Wikileaks.
This was a banner year for the whistleblower site, as the Chelsea Manning leaks were making headlines around the world. However, Valitor blocked transactions from Visa card holders in Iceland to Wikileaks, prompting a legal battle that lasted years.
Ultimatetly, DataCell won the legal battle against Valitor, and now, Fréttablaðið reports, Valitor will pay the amount previously confirmed by Reykjavík District Court: 1.2 billion ISK, to both DataCell and Sunshine Press Productions, Wikileaks’ publishing company.
At the time of the district court judgement, Sveinn Andri Sveinsson, a lawyer for Sunshine Press, called the decision a Solomon’s judgement, telling reporters that while they were seekining 18 billion ISK in damages, Valitor was hoping to have the case dismissed altogether.
With this new turn of events, Valitor has decided to forego an appeal, bringing the battle to a close.
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