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MegaUpload Barrister: NZ 'kowtowing to US' over Kim Dotcom
by Victoria Robinson via lynx - Stuff.co.nz Thursday, Mar 22 2012, 10:10am
international / injustice/law / other press

Kiwi barrister, Gary Gotlieb, representing Kim Dotcom of MegaUpload, spelled it out plain; the New Zealand lackey government is pandering to US Corporate interests regarding extraditing Kim Dotcom to face charges in the civilian killing, indefinite detention, legal assassination and torture, USA! The FACT is the US executive, including Attorney General, Holder, should be standing trial for its many heinous war crimes and subverting the founding principles of the US Republic. However, the issue here is the New Zealand lackey government, which should be turfed out on its corrupt ear come the next elections. The free world is tired of US hypocrisy, double standards and corrupt lackey governments that kowtow to Washington -- are you reading this, Gillard?

Kim Dotcom - easy on the hamburgers, dude!

The Crown ''kowtowed'' to American business interests in arresting and attempting to extradite Kim Dotcom, a prominent barrister says.

In a decision released yesterday, the High Court granted Kim Dotcom $60,000 a month to live on while he battles extradition to the United States.

Justice Judith Potter also ordered the Crown to pay the internet mogul $5000 in legal costs after mucking up the paperwork behind the seizure of his assets.

Barrister Gary Gotlieb said the decision reflected the fact that the Crown was too quick to bow to American pressures in this case.

''When things are done in haste often they're regretted in leisure,'' he said.

''In the end [the extradition] has got to relate to a breach of law we have in this country. And the whole thing is just such a moving feast, all the stuff that's going on on the internet and in cyberspace.''

Gotlieb said closing down Megaupload was not enough to stop people downloading copyright material from the internet.

''Someone else in the world will be doing it, and simply to bend towards business interests in America, which is really what it's about, kowtowing to business interests in America, I would have thought would not sit comfortably with many New Zealanders.''

He said the extradition was likely to be hotly contested by Dotcom's lawyers.

''I don't know how he set [Megaupload] up but one imagines he did take [legal] advice and ultimately it will be dealt with in our courts. But I wouldn't have thought it was an open-and-shut thing. It's a pretty new type of extradition proceeding, I can't think of anything like it.''

Crown lawyer Anne Toohey, who is representing the US government in the case, said it is the Attorney-General in New Zealand who is effectively making the decisions in the case, not the United States government, and any suggestions of pressure are unfounded.

She said although the Dotcom case was high profile, extradition requests were dealt with regularly by Crown Law.

''Every day we get requests for forms of assistance from all countries all over the world, including restraint of assets, execution of search warrants and that manner of thing. For us it is really daily business.''

US authorities want to extradite Dotcom to face alleged copyright charges worth $500 million by his Megaupload file-sharing website.

Justice Potter ruled last week that the Police Commissioner had mistakenly applied for the wrong type of ''order'' before the January raids on Dotcom's home.

The commissioner applied for a foreign restraining order, when his office should have applied for an interim restraining order. The mistake meant the initial order was null and void.

Toohey said yesterday the order was made by consent, and only relates to a very small procedure, which has now been remedied.

The commissioner has since applied for the right order in an attempt to correct the mistake. Now, all parties have to file submissions on the new order - which would dictate which of Dotcom's assets will remain with police - by the end of March.

In yesterday's decision, the High Court said a $20,000 monthly living allowance for Dotcom would come from the interest paid on the $10 million Dotcom has invested in NZ Government bonds.

The remaining $40,000 will be paid in monthly instalments from a $301,000 bank account he has had returned to him.

© 2012 Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/6623325/NZ-kowtowing-to-US-over-Dotcom