Extradition hearing for Kim Dotcom, founder of the Internet site Megaupload.com, accused in the United States of breaching copyright laws, was postponed for March 2013, after it was initially being announced for August 2012, the lawyers for the defendant said on Tuesday, according to AFP. New Zealand judiciary initially announced that the hearing will take place on August 6 to examine the extradition request submitted by the United States, which accuses Kim Schmitz, who legally changed his name to Kim Dotcom, of fraud and copyright infringement.
This hearing was postponed for March 25th, 2013, said spokesman for Kim Dotcom’s lawyer. The defense for the 38-year-old German claimed they needed more time, after many obstacles of the New Zealand justice against the prosecution.
A High Court judge in New Zealand said in late June that searches conducted by the police at the Auckland luxury villa of the founder of Megaupload.com in January were illegal. A month before, the justice argued that Kim Dotcom is entitled to inspect the documents to be used against him in the case of a trial in the United States before his extradition proceedings will be initiated.
Created in 2005 and based in Hong Kong, the Megaupload site, which says it has 50 million daily visitors representing 4 percent of Internet users, was closed on January 25. U.S. accuses the management of the site that it made $175 million from criminal activities and has caused damage worth $500 million to copyright holders, offering pirated copies of films, television shows and other content.
Kim Dotcom, who received a lot of attention since his arrest on January 20, was held in Auckland and released on bail a month later. In the U.S., he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Dotcom sent a message, via Tweeter, to the U.S. department of Justice: “Hey DOJ, we will go to the US. No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for lawyers & living expenses.”
Megaupload.com filed in a U.S. court a “cancellation request” of allegations against persons responsible for the site. A hearing on this case is scheduled for July 27.
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