Prague/Perth, Australia, Jan 4 (CTK) – The Czech authorities have not yet received any information about a suspected Australian hacker charged with attacks on Microsoft and U.S. military computer networks who is allegedly hiding in the Czech Republic, the Justice Ministry told CTK yesterday.
The perthnow.com.au news server has reported on the case. It says the 20-year-old fugitive, Dylan Wheeler, from Perth, intends to return to Australia if a fair trial is guaranteed to him there.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has also been searching for Wheeler, the website writes.
Three years ago, the Australian and U.S. police started investigating Wheeler, then 17, on suspicion of being part of a global hacking ring targeting Microsoft and the U.S. military. He was also charged with the possession of child porn that was found in his home, the server writes.
It adds that Wheeler denies the charges, saying he only hosted the servers on which the illegal data were stored.
Last April, the West Australian District Court ordered him to surrender his passport to prevent his possible flight from the country. However, he flew to Europe, the server says.
Now he is hiding in the Czech Republic, his mother’s homeland, it writes.
“If there was a fair trial they were guaranteeing, I’d be happy to come back of my own free will,” the server cites Wheeler as saying.
The Australian police claim he has released many untrue pieces of information to the media.
The Czech daily Pravo writes on the case in yesterday´s issue.
However, the Czech authorities have no information about the suspected hacker.
“The international penal section of the Justice Ministry has no information about the respective person, it does not keep any file on the person and no one has contacted it in this matter either,” Kristina Laboha, from the ministry´s press section, told CTK.
The ABC Australian TV has reported that Wheeler faces up to ten years in prison if convicted.
FBI has detained four other members of the criminal group from the United States and Canada who have confessed to the hacking attacks.
According to the charges, in cooperation with the Australian man, they have stolen intellectual property worth 100 million dollars.
