Court rules Nikulin does not have right to asylum in Czech Republic

Alleged Russian hacker Yevgeny Nikulin, whose extradition is being sought by both the United States and Russia, does not have the right to asylum in the Czech Republic on humanitarian grounds, Prague’s Municipal Court ruled on Friday.

The decision is binding and Mr Nikulin could challenge it only by filing a cassation complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court.

Judge Dana Černá said the court had deemed the “only reason” Mr Nikulin had filed for asylum was to avoid extradition. In the US he is suspected of hacking computers at Silicon Valley firms including LinkedIn and Dropbox, while the Russian authorities have charged him with Internet theft. He was arrested in Prague in 2016.