PRAGUE (Reuters) - A Czech court ruled on Tuesday Russian citizen Yevgeniy Nikulin can be extradited to either the United States, where he faces charges of hacking social networks including LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), or to Russia, which has accused him of a lesser charge of cyber theft.
Czech police arrested the Russian in Prague on Oct. 5 in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both countries had requested his extradition, leaving him in a tug-of-war between Washington and Moscow.
The ruling, pending appeals, leaves the final decision in the hands of Justice Minister Robert Pelikan, who can approve extradition to one country and block the other.