WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was honored in New York this weekend with the Yoko Ono Lennon Courage Award for the Arts. Assange remains holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London fighting extradition to Sweden. In a ceremony at the Museum of Modern Art, artist and activist Yoko Ono paid tribute to Assange in absentia.

Yoko Ono: “This 2013 Courage Award for the Arts is presented to Julian Assange. With your courage, the truth was revealed to us — thank you — and gave us wisdom and power to heal the world. On behalf of the suffering world, I thank you. Yoko Ono Lennon. Thank you.”

Yoko Ono turns 80 on February 18th.