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full screen The Swedish programmer Ola Bini was arrested in 2019 in Ecuador. Archive image. Photo: Dolores Ochoa/AP/TT
April 11, 2019: Ola Bini is arrested at the airport in Quito, accused of hacking the computer system of the Ecuadorian state-owned telecom company CNT. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who he is described as a close associate of, was arrested the same day in London.
June 21, 2019: Bini is released from custody after two months. He is placed under restrictions, and must report to the prosecutor’s office every week. He is banned from leaving the country pending the conclusion of the legal process.
October 10, 2019: A first preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin, but the hearing is canceled. Later, a new date is set to 17 February 2020, but that too is postponed to 17 March. The hearing is then postponed again with reference to covid-19.
December 3, 2020: A first court hearing is held in the case, 1.5 years after the arrest. Another hearing will be held on 16 December. Both are canceled after four hours.
June 29, 2021: The hearing resumes. The judge rules that Ola Bini should be put on trial for data breach.
September 11, 2021: The court announces that the trial will begin on October 21-22. With 48 hours’ notice, the trial is cancelled. Three weeks later, a new date is announced: 19–21 January 2022. When the three days are over, around 30 witnesses still remain. The court announces that the trial is being extended – but not when it resumes.
May 16, 2022: The trial resumes for five days. Once again, the negotiation is interrupted prematurely without communicating when it will resume.
August 30, 2022: The trial is supposed to end, but is again canceled with a few hours’ notice and postponed to the future. According to the court, due to the lack of an interpreter.
October 21, 2022: The court announces that the trial will end on November 11. The court convenes, but the prosecution does not appear, whereupon the hearing is adjourned. The new date was set to 31 January 2023.
January 31, 2023: A unanimous court acquits Ola Bini of all charges.
April 6, 2024: An appeals court overturns the acquittal and sentences Ola Bini to a year in prison.