Ecuador Orders Security Researcher Bini Deported on a Secret Report
A statute-expired case was reused to justify deportation, further weakening legal protections for security researchers in Ecuador.
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On October 1, Ecuadorean authorities detained Swedish free software developer and security expert Ola Bini in Quito and ordered his immediate deportation, barring him from returning for 10 years.
The grounds are a secret report alleging acts against Ecuador's security, whose contents the defense could not access. His lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition. According to information released by his lawyer, officials showed no document supporting the visa revocation, and human rights organizations were denied entry to the deportation hearing.
The old case behind Bini's criminal conviction has expired under the statute of limitations, and the court had already formally lifted all precautionary measures. EFF has followed the case for years and supports Bini; the account above comes mainly from the organization relaying his lawyers' posts, though Ecuador's immigration office also published a statement on its official account.