Dotcom Wins Minor Court Battle in Extradition Saga

NEW ZEALAND—Megaupload. Remember that? It was the world’s biggest file hosting service back in the day, until the U.S. federal government in January 2012 decided to file criminal charges against its founder, Kim Dotcom, and seize all of its assets and domains with the help of New Zealand authorities, who raided Dotcom’s luxurious homes and seized his expensive cars. Well, the case is still ongoing, and the feds are still fighting in court to get Dotcom extradited to the United States, where they plan to try him on criminal charges related to alleged copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering. Dotcom is fighting tooth-and-nail to keep that from happening. In many ways, the Dotcom extradition case is unique and precedential in that it represents the first time that the United States government has sought to reach beyond its borders in such a tangible (i.e., violent) way to hold a foreign national criminally liable for copyright-related crimes. Not only Dotcom, but the New Zealand courts and several NZ legislators have become increasingly troubled by the seemingly extrajudicial manner by which the U.S. and New Zealand authorities have conducted themselves, up to and possibly including engaging in illegal activity. Today, the New Zealand Supreme Court gave Dotcom a minor victory when it ruled that his lawyers will be allowed to argue before the High Court why U.S. prosecutors should be forced to hand over all the evidence they have gathered against Dotcom. “New Zealand government lawyers,” reported Ars Techina, “have been arguing, on behalf of the US, that he should not be given the right to see those documents and that the extradition issue should be decided without lengthy discovery.” The hearing is set for July 30, which is perilously close to the extradition trial, which in December 2012 was rescheduled by a New Zealand court for this August. At the time, it seemed like an interminable delay and a victory of sorts for Dotcom, whose antics in the interim have included launching a new file-sharing service in January called Mega and penning an open letter to Hollywood, but now, with August fast approaching, the day of reckoning appears to be nigh. Unless, of course, the New Zealand Supremes tell the U.S. prosecutors they have to fork over all the evidence. If that happens, look for another year-long delay.