Ola Benny wrote on Twitter after announcing his acquittal: “We won! I was acquitted of crime by a unanimous court.”
He also wrote that it was an important victory but that “it’s not over yet”.
When the court called closing arguments on Tuesday, Ola Bey appeared in court with low expectations.
– Ola Bini said on the phone From Quito to TT, it’s mentally hard to hope something will be right and then be disappointed, so I’d rather not have any hopes at all.
After an 11-hour hearing in a courtroom in Quito, Ecuador, where Ola Penny, among others, testified for five hours, the court announced that it would withdraw to deliberate and then issue a ruling.
be surprised
The announcement of the sentencing quickly caught Ola Benny and his lawyer by surprise. In an audio message to TT, sent before the verdict was announced, Benny said he was surprised they were able to make the decision so quickly.
– Considering the amount of material we have seen and heard, it is difficult to understand how this is possible, says Ola Bini in the audio recording.
However, the court was able to agree on a decision and announced, just hours after the end of the session, that Ola Bini was acquitted of all charges.
Ola Beni was arrested in April 2019 at Quito Airport, while boarding a flight to Japan. The charges against him were sensational: hacking into the computer system of the government communications company CNT with the aim of destabilizing the government and blackmailing the country’s then president, Lenín Moreno.
Refute the charges
Moreno himself decided that the Swede was part of the “espionage center” headed by Julian Assange. Ola Bini was arrested on the same day the WikiLeaks founder was pulled from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has been a haven since 2012, and arrested by police.
Benny, who has lived in Ecuador since 2013, has consistently denied the allegations. He certainly knows Julian Assange, but he denies having anything to do with WikiLeaks. Had he been convicted of the data breach, he would have risked up to five years in prison.
No other evidence was ever produced against Beni, and what exactly Ola Beni is suspected of is unclear. The prosecution against him has been questioned by the UN Special Envoy for Freedom of Expression and a long line of human rights organizations have been involved in the case. The defense has always claimed that the prosecution is politically motivated.
Also read: And now the trial of Ola Bene of West Sweden is set to resume in Ecuador – again
Also read: Western Swede Ola Beni waited three years for trial in Ecuador
Also read: Western Swede Ola Penny stuck in Ecuador for over a year: ‘There’s fear all the time’
April 11, 2019: Ola Bini is arrested at Quito airport on charges of hacking into the computer system of the Ecuadorian state-owned telecom company CNT. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who is described as a close associate of him, was arrested on the same day in London.
June 21, 2019: Benny is released after two months. He was placed under restrictions, and must report to the district attorney’s office every week. Banned from leaving the country pending completion of legal procedures.
October 10, 2019: A preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin, but the hearing is cancelled. Later, a new date was set to February 17, 2020, but that was also postponed to March 17. Then the session is postponed again in connection with covid-19.
December 3, 2020: A first hearing in the case takes place 1.5 years after the arrest. Another hearing will take place on December 16. Both were canceled after four hours.
June 29, 2021: Session resumes. The judge ruled that Ola Beni should be prosecuted 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: January 19-21, 2022. When the three days are up, there are still about 30 witnesses. The court announces an extension of the trial – but not when it is appealed.
May 16, 2022: Trial resumes for five days. Again, negotiations are prematurely interrupted with no word on when they will resume.
August 30, 2022: The trial was supposed to end, but it was 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 close on November 11. The court convenes and the prosecution does not attend, so the session is adjourned. The new date is set for January 31, 2023.
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