📰 New article from TorrentFreak
Kim Dotcom Loses Court of Appeal Bid to Block Extradition to the U.S.
https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-loses-court-of-appeal-bid-to-block-extradition-to-the-u-s/
It’s been a wild fourteen-year ride for Kim Dotcom, but New Zealand’s Court of Appeal just dealt another heavy blow to his bid to stay out of U.S. hands. The court dismissed his latest appeal against extradition, closing the door on his arguments that he should have been charged locally instead.
Dotcom tried to draw a comparison to his former co-defendants, who pleaded guilty and served shorter sentences in New Zealand. The judges weren’t having it. They ruled that the Police Commissioner’s decision to focus on Dotcom as the alleged ringleader was justified, especially since those other defendants had actually cooperated. Without a plea deal from Dotcom, the U.S. wasn’t about to back off its extradition request.
Then there’s the matter of the potential prison time. Facing 30 to 150 years in the U.S., Dotcom argued this severity should “shock the conscience” of New Zealanders. It didn’t. The court noted that while the sentence is steep, it doesn’t violate human rights laws because mechanisms like compassionate release still exist.
So, where does that leave him? With the appeal rejected and costs ordered, Dotcom now faces the prospect of a final, desperate leap to the Supreme Court. If that fails, the U.S. federal prison system is likely next.