Finland decides to extradite Russian hacker to the US

Finland's Justice Ministry has decided to extradite to the United States Maxim Senakh, a Russian citizen accused of illegal hacking. 

According to Senakh's lawyer, Igor Khitrukhin, Finnish authorities decided on January 5 to send Senakh to the US, though he wasn't informed until January 8. Khitrukhin says the move is politically motivated and promises to appeal in the European Human Rights Court.

“We believe that this is a political decision based on an extradition treaty between Finland and the United States. It leaves no grounds for appeal. But right now I'm headed to meet with my client, and, if he so decides, we will try to appeal the decision in the European Human Rights Court,” the lawyer said.

Maxim Senakh was detained in Finland in August 2015. State officials in Minnesota suspect him of infecting computer servers with malware, resulting in criminal gains worth millions of dollars.

When Senakh was arrested, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative for human rights, said said the detention was "another demonstration of the illegal practice of detaining Russian citizens abroad launched by US authorities." Russian officials have also called Senakh's apprehension an American "witch hunt."