After almost four years of legal squabbling and delays, the extradition trial for the notorious German tech entrepreneur Kim Dotcom began today in a New Zealand court.
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In 2012, Megaupload was shut down and Dotcom and three others were arrested in Auckland, and what has followed has been a tangle of court cases, motions, and various other legal gymnastics that could be close to an endor at least close to moving definitively forward.
Dotcom and his associates-Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk-face possible extradition to the US over their alleged part in an organized criminal enterprise that was centered on Megaupload, the file-sharing website responsible for large-scale piracy and copyright offences.
Dotcom watched proceedings from his own leather armchair at the back of the court after being granted special permission to bring it in to try to ease a back complaint.
Speaking outside the court following the ruling, Dotcom said, “I think this is another case of harassment and bullying by the United States government in concert with the New Zealand government”.
Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig, one of the world’s leading experts on copyright, this week released a review of the Dotcom case and said there was no basis for extradition.
Judge Nevin Dawson is expected to rule within the next month whether the subjects of the so-called “Mega Conspiracy” will be extradited, which the defendants have fought against tooth and nail for years.
“At a minimum, Megaupload Limited was plausibly aware of the ongoing rampant infringement taking place on its website”, the evidence summary said.
According to The Guardian, Dotcom attempted to avoid this latest extradition hearing via the court of appeal, but it was not successful. He is also charged with money laundering and racketeering, Reuters adds.
Kim Dotcom also played a crucial role in the political demise and subsequent resurrection of former ACT MP John Banks. United States prosecutors don’t need to demonstrate Dotcom and his partners are blameworthy.
But procedural matters are set to dominate the opening day as Dotcom, who replaced his legal team earlier this year, argues the hearing should be delayed to allow his new counsel more time to prepare for the complex case.
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It all stems from Dotcom’s cloud storage operation Megaupload which reportedly earned the 41-year-old tens of millions of dollars.
