PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic’s highest court says a former justice minister violated the rights of an alleged Russian hacker by allowing his extradition to the U.S. before a separate asylum case was finalized.
Yevgeniy Nikulin is accused of hacking computers at LinkedIn, Dropbox and other American companies in 2012, compromising the personal information of millions of Americans.
The Constitutional Court said Tuesday that then Justice Minister Robert Pelikan allowed Nikulin’s extradition before his asylum request went through the court system. Nikulin was later denied asylum. He was extradited to the U.S. in March 2018.
Pelikan is no longer justice minister and won’t face any punishment.
The Czechs arrested Nikulin in Prague in cooperation with the FBI in October 2016. He denies the charges against him.
