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‘Breaking new ground’: Dotcom wins right to live-stream appeal against US extradition

The live-streaming will begin Wednesday on YouTube, with a 20-minute delay to prevent any evidence that is protected by the court from becoming public

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Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues are appealing a December lower-court decision which allows them to be extradited to the US to face conspiracy, racketeering and money-laundering charges. If found guilty, they could face decades in jail. Photo: AFP

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom was Tuesday granted his wish to live-stream his bid to avoid extradition to the United States where he is wanted on online piracy charges.

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Attempts by the United States to block the live-streaming request were rejected by Judge Murray Gilbert in the Auckland High Court.

Lawyers for the US argued live-streaming could pollute a potential jury pool if the founder of the Megaupload file-sharing service ended up on trial in the United States.

But, Gilbert ruled it could go ahead under strict conditions. The live-stream must be delayed by 20 minutes, to allow the court time to prevent any restricted material from being published, and all footage must be removed from the Internet as soon as the hearing is over.

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“This is breaking new ground. New Zealand at the forefront of transparent Justice! Leadership!” Dotcom tweeted.

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