International
Ola Bini, the computer scientist linked to Assange who will be five years old prosecuted in Ecuador
Ola Bini, the Swedish computer scientist and programmer who was arrested in 2019 in Ecuador and accused of an alleged cyber attack for links with the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is on the way to five years prosecuted, without yet seeing the light of the tunnel, despite the fact that a court has already descised to continue the case for lack of evidence.
“This whole process is very frustrating. It has been frustrating for a long time and I still don’t see the end,” he explained in an interview with EFE Bini, who first spent 70 days in pretrial detention and since then is at large, but prevented from leaving the country and forced to report periodically to the authorities.
This has been the life of this now 41-year-old computer scientist in the last five years, who was 37 when he was arrested on April 11, 2019 before he took a flight to Japan, and whom the Government accused of improperly accessing databases of the National Telecommunications Company (CNT).
Bini recalled that it was the Government that linked him to Assange under the accusation of an alleged plot to destabilize the Executive after the eviction of the Australian from the Embassy of Ecuador in London, but emphasized that in the file of the Prosecutor’s Office there is no reference to him.
And despite the fact that in January 2023 a court ruled in favor of filing the process against him, the Prosecutor’s Office appealed the ruling and now it is going to be reviewed by another court that in 2019 already denied Bini the appeal to the pretrial detention order, so for the computer scientist it is not a guarantee of a fair ruling.
“They already have an opinion about my case. So, I do not expect an objective trial or without a conflict of interest, and that is what generates the most uncertainty: not knowing when all this is going to end,” said Bini, who if what he anticipates is fulfilled is already clear that he will appeal to the National Court of Justice, the supreme court.
The Swede commented that he has already had that same uncertainty for five years, that “it can end tomorrow or continue for five more years.”
“I try to have a social life and train to lower my stress a little, but everything is difficult,” lamented Bini, who now works at the Center for Digital Autonomy to promote the protection of personal data and free software, and tries to lead a normal life, despite the fact that he assures that he permanently feels the follow-up of undercover policemen.
“I don’t understand why they watch me in this way. I don’t understand if this is something they do with any (prosecuted) after five years of judicial process and after they have declared my innocence,” Bini said.
For the computer scientist, “Ecuador is experiencing a very complicated situation (with an ‘internal armed conflict’ declared since the beginning of the year against organized crime) and it is not explained that they spend resources to monitor it “when there are all these problems in the country.”
The court that must review the sentence that gave up continuing with the accusation against Bini has tried to set up the hearing on two occasions, but the first did not have an official Swedish translator and then the communication seemed to make it impossible to develop the exhibitions for the Nordic.
Bini emphasized that this hearing is due to the appeal filed by the Prosecutor’s Office, because CNT, which was the private accusation, did not do the same.
According to Bini, the only thing they presented as evidence against them is the alleged photograph of a screen where it is evident that there is no intrusion, because “a connection appears, then a warning and a request from a user and password, and then a ‘time out’ (time exceeded to comply with entering the required information).”
“In this case there was no intrusion because there was a warning, and then nothing happens,” reiterated Bini, for whom also “they had no records of firewalls or other (cybersecurity) systems of CNT,” because “they did not show anything else, and even the reports said that it is clear that there was no intrusion.”
Bini’s case is practically unprecedented in the country, so he and his lawyers have to do a lot of pedagogy with the judges so that they know computer terms and procedures that are familiar to them.
“I understand that these issues have not been discussed before. So, if I am convicted with this type of thing, almost all activities on the network were going to be crimes and that is very dangerous at the same time,” Bini warned.
“I would like to stay in Ecuador, because Ecuador is my home, but of course, I would like to be able to travel and visit my family and friends (in Sweden). So what I would like is just to continue working here and continue living here, but to have my freedom to be with my relatives as well,” he concluded.
International
Suspect Armed With Shotgun and Knives Detained at White House Correspondents Dinner
U.S. authorities confirmed Saturday that the suspect who stormed into the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while President Donald Trump was attending acted alone, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public following the incident, which left one Secret Service agent injured.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference that the suspect was carrying “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” when he attempted to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint inside the hotel lobby at approximately 8:36 p.m. local time.
“At this point, everything indicates that this was a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Carroll stated, adding that investigators have found no preliminary evidence suggesting the involvement of additional suspects.
During the exchange of gunfire inside the hotel corridors, the suspect was not struck by bullets but was subdued by law enforcement officers and later transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
A member of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was shot during the incident, though the bullet was stopped by the officer’s ballistic vest, preventing serious injuries. The agent was taken to a hospital and is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Carroll.
The shooting prompted the immediate evacuation of President Trump, Melania Trump, and several senior officials attending the event after multiple gunshots were heard outside the hotel’s main ballroom.
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
International
U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico
The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.
According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.
“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.
In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.
In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.
The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.
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