Being prosecuted, even unfairly, does not necessarily imply you suddenly go and work for a dictatorship -- unless you were already working for them. People who know Russia well know it wasn't that different in 2012. It had already invaded Georgia and was helping Assad crush a popular movement in Syria.

It wasn't a big deal in 2012. The popular opinion was "Russia no longer posed the threat" and even can be viewed as "an ally" of the US. See: https://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/04/hillar...

Russia had already invaded Chechnya in 2000. This did not stop Tony Blair from pushing for oil deals:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/feb/13/russia.poli...

Here is a site that claims that the deals went on well after the Crimea annexation:

https://www.declassifieduk.org/under-putin-mi6-linked-bp-ext...

I do not know the second site, so search and check for yourself. Britain also took gas via the Nordstream network that had a pipeline through Northern Germany to England.

I would direct such criticisms towards Blair and not towards someone who was under tremendous pressure and frankly fearing for his life.

Going to RT did not help Assange's legal case in any way.

I'm against double standards. It was wrong from both Assange, Blair and other Western leaders and activists who claimed to care about democracy and human rights to deal with Putin's Russia the way they did.