Ecuador detains a friend of Assange. Critics say it’s guilt by association

Just hours after British police dragged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, police in Ecuador made an arrest they suggested was related and involved the nation’s security.

But in the days since, the arrest has drawn a wave of protest from human rights activists and digital security advocates who say there is no evidence yet of a crime — only that of guilt by association.

The man arrested, Ola Bini, a Swedish cyber-security expert and digital privacy advocate, was detained April 11 on charges that he had attacked computer systems in the country.

As evidence, prosecutors pointed to the laptops, iPads, iPods, encrypted USB sticks and credit cards they found when they searched Bini’s home and possessions. They noted that Bini travelled often and had spent more than $230,000 in internet services over the past five years.

Ecuador’s officials particularly cited Bini’s contacts with Assange, who faces extradition to the United States on charges of conspiring to hack a US government computer to obtain national security information.

Last week, President Lenin Moreno of Ecuador said that Bini was one of “many hackers” who had visited Assange at the country’s embassy in London, where the WikiLeaks founder had sought refuge.

But as news of the detention has spread, human rights and digital security advocates have begun to question the grounds for the detention, arguing that Bini, 36, worked to prevent illegal access to private information.

Amnesty International and Article 19, an organisation that defends free speech, have raised concerns about the arrest.

Bini was arrested at the international airport in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, on his way to Japan to take part in a martial arts programme, said his girlfriend, Sofia Celi. Later, government officials went on television to applaud the arrest.

Bini’s lawyers say the detention is unlawful. They say he was denied access to lawyers for 17 hours, was not informed of the charges against him, and was not offered a translator, as required by local laws. His lawyers said they have been harassed and threatened by police.

Bini, who was not granted bail, will remain in custody for 90 days while Ecuadorean prosecutors build a case against him.

© 2019 New York Times News Service