US federal authorities wanting to extradite Kim Dotcom, the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing site, must show evidence to back up charges of internet piracy and copyright breaches, a New Zealand court has ruled.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accuses the flamboyant Dotcom of leading a group that had netted $175 million since 2005 by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorisation.
New Zealand authorities arrested Dotcom, a 38-year-old German national, when they raided his rented country estate near Auckland at the FBI’s request in late January, confiscating computers and hard drives, art work and cars.
The raid and evidence seizure has already been ruled illegal and the latest decision confirms that Dotcom should be allowed to see the evidence on which the extradition hearing will be based.
Without access to materials relevant to the extradition hearing phase, the person sought will be significantly constrained
“Without access to materials relevant to the extradition hearing phase, the person sought will be significantly constrained in his or her ability to participate in the hearing,” Justice Helen Winkelmann said in a written judgment.
Winkelmann also ruled that the legal document asking for Dotcom’s extradition did not comply with the law.
The judge said the extradition hearing would be more modest than a formal criminal trial, but the evidence needed to be tested and the defence able to present its own evidence, test the prosecution’s claims and to examine witnesses.
The New Zealand courts have already ruled that evidence gathered in the January raid and sent to the US was seized illegally and should be returned to New Zealand.
Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, has always maintained that Megaupload simply offered online storage.
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