Extradition to US of man accused with malware sale quashed, case to be reheard
Maltese judge quashes extradition to the US of Daniel Meli, ordering that his case be reheard by the magistrates’ court
A Maltese judge has quashed the extradition to the US of Daniel Meli, ordering that his case be reheard by the magistrates’ court.
Judge Neville Camilleri ruled that Meli should be given the chance to contest extradition proceedings despite having already consented to be sent to the US to face charges there.
The ruling was possible following a legal amendment approved unanimously by parliament allowing lawyers for Meli to appeal proceedings despite him first consenting to the extradition.
Meli’s case will have to be reheard in the lower courts.
His extradition had been requested by the Northern District of Georgia following his indictment in December 2023, for computer access, damage and interception-related offences. US prosecutors accuse Meli of having offered malware products and services, amongst them the Pegasus remote access trojan (RAT), for sale to cybercriminals through online computer-hacking forums “since at least 2012.”
Earlier this year, in an interview with MaltaToday, Meli’s parents appealed to the authorities to intervene in the case. The family had found out that their son’s consent to the extradition meant he could face a lifetime in an American prison, a far cry from what Meli’s lawyer had told him when advising him to agree to extradition.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Arthur Azzopardi represented Meli during proceedings.
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