MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Nikulin was detained in the Czech Republic on October 5, 2016, based on a warrant related to a criminal complaint by a US court. The US authorities accuse the Russian national of allegedly hacking computers belonging to LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring online services and demand his extradition.
“Miller [Jeffrey, FBI special agent] offered Nikulin to agree to extradition to the United States and then to defame your [US President Donald Trump’s] election campaign in media by lying that he is responsible for hacking the servers of the Democratic Party. For his perjury, Nikulin was promised that the criminal prosecution against him would be closed as well as financial compensation and the US citizenship,” the letter, written by Nikulin’s lawyer Vladimir Makeev, read, as quoted by the newspaper.
The lawyer told the newspaper that Nikulin is detained in the unacceptable conditions, while his rights are constantly violated. Makeev stressed that Nikulin does not receive necessary treatment for his stomach and kidneys’ diseases.
Kremlin also demands Nikulin’s extradition to Russia as he is suspected of a cybercrime, which resulted in a theft of $3,450 from a Moscow resident.
Democrats and some Republicans have accused the Russian government of masterminding the theft of data from email servers belonging to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the subsequent release of the data by the anti-secrecy group known as WikiLeaks. The Russian government has denied the allegations.
