Czech Constitutional Court postpones extradition of alleged Russian hacker Nikulin

PRAGUE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Czech Constitutional Court, the country's top court, on Tuesday decided to postpone the extradition of the alleged Russian hacker Yevgeniy Nikulin.

The court ruled that Nikulin cannot be extradited for prosecution in the United States or Russia at present.

In May of 2017, Prague Municipal Court ruled that Nikulin, who was detained in a Prague hotel in October 2016, can be sent to both the U.S. and Russia for trial. The U.S. and Russia officially requested the Czech Republic extradite Nikulin the day after he was detained.

The postponement will continue until Czech Constitutional Court judges decide on a last-ditch complaint filed by Nikulin.

The 30-year-old Nikulin was arrested by Czech police in a hotel in Prague in October 2016 based on an international arrest warrant issued by the U.S.

According to the U.S. investigators, Nikulin used the Internet to hack computers of the LinkedIn professional network in March 2012, gaining user passwords with the aim to either sell the stolen data or use it for unauthorized access to further computers and accounts. Russia issued an arrest warrant for Nikulin's online theft of finances amounting to 3,450 U.S. dollars in 2009.

Nikulin has said he prefers being extradited to Russia where he is facing a lesser punishment. But he denies the allegation that he is a hacker, arguing that it is only based on the claims of U.S. Federal Bureau of Intelligence agents.

The U.S. had asked the Czech Foreign Ministry for Nikulin's extradition on November 16, 2016. Later after that, Russian also officially asked Czech Justice Ministry for Nikulin's extradition with a request issued on November 16, 2016, and based on an arrest warrant from November 10, 2016.

Czech Justice Ministry spokesman Jakub Riman said that the Ministry respects the Constitutional Court's decision. Enditem