Kim Dotcom is eligible for extradition to the States over allegations of online piracy linked to his Megaupload website. Megaupload was a file-sharing website that is now defunct. However, Dotcom's defense lawyers said they would appeal the decision and continue to fight to prevent him from being sent to the United States.
Ron Mansfield, Dotcom's lawyer, released a statement saying that they were far from defeated. Dotcom also lashed out and took to Twitter to vent. He argued that he proved his legal point that copyright is not an offense that calls for extradition.
He added that this was a political case and the judgment was also political. He tweeted that he said he couldn't be extradited for copyright and he was right. He then asked if this was Sharia law.
What the FBI alleges
The FBI alleges that Dotcom's Megaupload reaped massive profits from criminal proceeds. The agency claims the website made more than $170 million and cost copyright owners more than half a million dollars. According to the US government, Megaupload offered pirated content.
Dotcom claims he has done nothing wrong. He accused the US government of pursuing him on behalf of Hollywood studios. He says that Megaupload was a file-sharing website that policed copyright infringement, but he couldn't control every aspect of its 50 million users.
The file-sharing site was shut down by the US government in 2012. The site allowed millions of people around the world to download digital content. This included music, TV shows, and movies.
The court's decision against Dotcom
Three others who were involved with Megaupload are also eligible for extradition. The other three are Dotcom's former colleagues, Bram van der Kolk, Finn Batato and Mathias Ortmann.
Like Dotcom, they plan on appealing the court's decision.
The High Court agreed with defense lawyers that Dotcom and his associates cannot be extradited to the US based on copyright infringement. This is because New Zealand doesn't consider online communication of copyright protected works to the public a crime. However, the court ruled that the four can be extradited on fraud charges because those are considered crimes in the country.
As of now, it's not known whether or not Dotcom will be extradited. The ruling also doesn't determine Dotcom's guilt or innocence. The ruling simply means he can be sent to the US to face trial.
