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Assange Friend Jailed by Ecuador Says Case Will Collapse


Gorel Biniel (L) and Dag Gustafsson (C), parents of Swedish software developer Ola Bini, and lawyer Carlos Soria, hold a news conference after a local judge ordered Bini jailed pending trial for alleged role in hacking government computers, in Quito, Ecuador, April 16, 2019.
Gorel Biniel (L) and Dag Gustafsson (C), parents of Swedish software developer Ola Bini, and lawyer Carlos Soria, hold a news conference after a local judge ordered Bini jailed pending trial for alleged role in hacking government computers, in Quito, Ecuador, April 16, 2019.

A jailed Swedish programmer friendly with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he's confident the case against him in Ecuador lacks substance and "will collapse."

Privacy activist Ola Bini also says in a statement provided by his attorney that he's being held under "the best of circumstances" but that prison conditions are "despicable."

Police detained Bini last week — shortly after Assange was arrested in London — as he boarded a plane for Japan.

Ecuador's president, Lenin Moreno, claims Bini hacked cellphones and online accounts belonging to private citizens and Ecuador's government.

A judge ordered Bini held for 90 days while prosecutors prepare a case. Defense attorney Carlos Soria says they have presented no evidence.

Bini said he's being held for ideological reasons — for what amounts to Orwellian "thought crimes."

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