Accused hacker to appeal bail denial

HAMILTON• A judge’ s harsh bail refusal for accused international hacker Karim Baratov, arrested in Canada but wanted in the United States, will be appealed, his legal team announced Wednesday.

On Tuesday in a Hamilton court, Judge Alan Whitten ordered Baratov, 22, to remain in jail while he waits for an extradition hearing, sternly rebuffing the arguments of Baratov’s lawyers and the pleas of his parents.

Amedeo Di Carlo, Bar ato v’ s lead attorney, suggested the decision and nine- page judgment bore little resemblance to what was presented as evidence in court.

“It doesn’t agree with anything we presented — especially since we felt that the plan of supervision was solid. The judge obviously felt otherwise,” DiCarlo told the National Post.

“We have every right to disagree,” he said.

“After careful review of the decision and our initial argument, we can comfortably say we do have grounds, however, we cannot disclose specific details,” he said.

Specific grounds of appeal will be outlined in the notice of appeal to be filed with the Ontario Court of Appeal shortly, he and cocounsel Deepak Paradkar both said.

It could take several weeks for a bail appeal.

Baratov was arrested in March at the request of the United States in connection with the massive hacking of Yahoo and Google email accounts, said to be one of the largest known data breaches.

Authorities say Baratov and Alexsey Belan were the hackers for hire who targeted email accounts on the orders of the two agents with the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, which is the successor organization of the Soviet- era KGB.

All of Baratov’s co- accused — Belan, as well as the agents, Dmitry Dokuchaev and Igor Sushchin — are in Russia and beyond the reach of the U.S. prosecutors.

Whitten was concerned that Baratov would flee to join them if released, according to his decision.

“Why would he stick around?” asked Whitten in his decision. “It appears that Baratov is highly skilled at ‘ hacking,’ ” he wrote.

“He can continue his wealth- generating activities anywhere in the world.”

Whitten said Baratov’s alleged connections to Russian intelligence agents offered a chance for sanctuary abroad.

“Would( anyone) be surprised that Baratov, like Houdini who escaped from his straitjacket, took flight? Not very likely,” he wrote of the public’s reaction if Baratov was released and fled.

DiCarlo said he will be meeting with Baratov and his parents Thursday to go over their next steps.