MADRID: The 22-year-old Englishman who was detained this week in Spain in connection with last year’s Twitter hacking which endangered the account of several US politicians including President Joe Biden candidate had been imprisoned waiting for extradition hearing, a court source said.
Joseph James O’Connor appeared in front of the Spanish High Court through videolink from the southern city of Estepona where he was detained on Wednesday.
O’Connor, who faced several charges in the United States, expressed his rejection to be extradited, said the source.
Lawyer O’Connor confirmed the extradition that opposed his client but did not comment on the accusation.
The trial was held behind a closed door, so there was no more detail available.
The July 2020 Twitter attack hijacked various account verified, including the Democratic candidate of Biden and CEO of Tesla Elon Musk.
Account Former President Barack Obama, TV Reality Star Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Kayne West are also affected.
Hackers use accounts to request digital currencies, encourage Twitter to take extraordinary steps to prevent multiple verified accounts from publishing messages for several hours to the security to be returned.
The Judge of the High Court imprisoned O’Connor as a precautionary measure after taking into account flight risks and the seriousness of the case set by the US Department of Justice.
The court is expected to set extradition hearing in the next few months.