Kim Dotcom's Extradition Hearing Postponed Until March 2013
The United States’ court case against Megaupload founders Kim Dotcom, Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk for alleged copyright infringement was dealt another setback Tuesday, after the New Zealand extradition hearing for the four was moved to March 2013.
Originally, the hearing was scheduled for August 6 this year, about six months after Dotcom’s home was raided in January, but a series of legal complications have pushed that date forward.
These include a High Court judge invalidating the warrants for seizing Dotcom’s property and funds — thus making the armed raid at dawn illegal. The judge also declared that the FBI shipping cloned hard drive images taken at the raid was unlawful, thanks to the warrants used being too broad and general.