Cypriot hacker to be extradited to US

A young hacker could be the first ever Cypriot to be extradited to the United States, while his lawyers are urging him to file an appeal.

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According to a Nicosia court ruling, in connection with a case of wire fraud and online hacking that targeted companies including in the US, a 20-year-old man has been ordered to be extradited to face American justice.

The young man described as a Cypriot national was accused of being involved in a May 2017 network attack against Cablenet, a private telecommunications service provider in Cyprus.

But the FBI also wanted the suspect to face charges back in the US in connection with wire fraud they say he committed against a number of US companies between 2014 and 2016. The young man is alleged to be part of a global network including money extortion schemes.

The suspect’s lawyer, Michael Chambers, is reportedly laying the groundwork for an appeal of the decision, saying his client has Asperger’s syndrome while also arguing that he was a teenager at the time he committed the offences from his home.

According to Reporter, Chambers also expressed concern over the judge’s decision. The attorney said he believed the female judge was biased from the beginning by feeling an obligation to honour a US-Cyprus extradition treaty following a constitutional amendment years ago.

“He is suffering from Asperger’s and his human rights will be threatened if the Republic of Cyprus goes forward with his extradition to the US,” the lawyer reportedly said.

But reports also said the young man was fed up with the situation. He was held in jail for about a year awaiting trial when he was released and immediately re-arrested on an FBI-based international warrant.

“The 20-year-old is losing his patience so much that he believes it is better to go to the USA so that he can get it over with and come back,” Chambers said.

But the lawyer added his client could get up to 20 years and they were trying to help him change his mind and file an appeal.