Online reports indicate that Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed Bitcoin inventor, did not attend his UK court hearing today due to a lack of resources to travel. He is currently facing a contempt of court case related to his lawsuit against Bitcoin Core developers. If proven, Wright could receive a prison sentence.
The hearing was expected to address the contempt of court case against Wright, who was ordered to appear at the London Royal Court of Justice. However, Wright informed the participants via email that he would not be attending due to his inability to travel. In October, the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance (COPA) filed a contempt application in response to Wright’s $1.2 billion lawsuit against Bitcoin Core Developers and Jack Dorsey’s Square Up European Ltd.
COPA argued that Wright had breached the injunction resulting from the main Bitcoin Authorship case, which ordered Wright to admit he was not Satoshi Nakamoto and cease any further legal action related to the disproven authorship claims. During a November court hearing, Wright denied COPA’s accusations, arguing that his latest legal battle was “fundamentally different” from an identity claim as it was based on his “contributions to the development, maintenance, and extension of the Bitcoin Blockchain.” Wright asserted that he was not in contempt but was willing to amend his case if the court found him to be breaching the court’s injunction.
Judge Mellor halted Wright’s lawsuit while the Contempt case was resolved, scheduling the hearing for December 18. During the hearing, it was discussed that Wright’s in-person assistance was required, as he attended the initial hearing via video call from Singapore. In a subsequent hearing, the court ordered Wright to return to the UK for today’s hearing.
COPA’s legal representative, Jonathan Hough, revealed that the non-profit organization offered to pay for Wright’s travel expenses, but Wright refused the offer, stating it “would not cover his business losses.”
Following Wright’s absence, British High Court Judge James Mellor decided to continue the hearing and hand down a judgment on Thursday, December 19 at 2 pm UK time.
The judge asked COPA’s legal representative to invite Wright to the sentencing before ending the session.
Source