On April 11th, 2022, three years have passed since Ola Bini was illegally detained by the Ecuadorian state. Three years full of violations of due process, intrusions into the privacy of Ola and his relatives, harassment by the justice apparatus,...
Ola Bini arrested in Ecuador
Ola Bini, privacy advocate and free software developer, is being detained as a political prisoner in Ecuador.
Ola Bini Innocent
A political persecution that should never have happened
A case forged by political actors
On April 11, 2019, after a press conference held by the former Minister of the Interior, María Paula Romo, Ola Bini was illegally, illegitimately and arbitrarily detained at Quito’s International Airport. The former minister accused him of being Russian, and also a member of WikiLeaks who collaborated with Julian Assange in Ecuador, who had tried to destabilize the government of former President Lenín Moreno.
After spending 70 days in prison, he was released thanks to a Habeas Corpus that declared that his detention was illegal and that his fundamental human rights were violated by the State. Even so, with the intervention of Moreno’s government, Ola was accused, first, of attacking computer systems and, later, of accessing a computer system of the National Telecommunications Corporation (CNT) without consent, but not in 2019, but, supposedly in 2015.
Victory: Ola Bini is declared innocent
The criminal process initiated in 2019 was flawed by dozens of violations of due process and Ola's rights, in each and every one of the judicial stages. Because of this, and because of the relevance of the case for the validity of digital rights, more than 100 national and international civil society organizations have spoken out publicly against the accusations and twenty of them formed a Permanent Observation Mission. In addition, the RELE-CIDH has warned Ecuador about the way in which the process has been carried out.
With such antecedents, a tribunal of first instance, unanimously, declared the innocence of Ola Bini on January 31st. In their oral argument, they claimed that neither the Attorney General's Office (FGE) nor the CNT presented any type of evidence that could prove the commission of any crime. Moreover, the Court found that the FGE witnesses themselves argued that there were no indications that Bini would have accessed any system without consent.
And now? An irrational and out of step appeal
Ola Bini is innocent. The facts say so. This is supported by national and international civil society. This is how national and regional human rights organizations understand it. This is what the press admits. This is also what the Justice has said. However, the Prosecutor's Office and the CNT, irrationally and against the grain, have announced that they will appeal the ruling in question.
In the coming months, a new Court will summon the parties to an appeal hearing to analyze the sentence issued in the first instance and rule on its content. Once again, all the social actors will be watching what is decided and its implications. In this context, we should remember: not only the life of an innocent person is at stake, but also the validity of digital rights in the country.
The world is experiencing explosive times where knowledge is threatened more and more by the institutions in power. There have been many cases worldwide where experts in different areas have been persecuted using the judicial system in order to meet...
Adhere personally or with your organization to this statement of support by sending an email to: firma@freeolabini.org On April 11th, 2019, Ola Bini, technical director of the Center for Digital Autonomy (CAD), freesoftware developer, world-class...
Pronouncement by organizations that oversee the evaluation and the preparatory trial hearing for the Ola Bini case. Download PDF
From an article found here. Ecuadorian authorities must guarantee a fair trial and monitor whether due process is respected in the case of digital defender Ola Bini, whose pre-trial hearing for the alleged crime of “unauthorised access to an...
Ecuadorian authorities must guarantee a fair trial and monitor whether due process is respected in the case of digital defender Ola Bini, whose pre-trial hearing for the alleged crime of “unauthorised access to an information system” will be held...
The undersigning civil society organizations express our concern over the global trend of persecuting digital rights defenders –including security researchers and trainers who act to protect and promote human rights. We demand the strong protection...
From an article found here. The raid carried out by the Attorney General’s Office on the home of Fabián Hurtado, the independent information technology expert witness in the case of digital rights defender Ola Bini, which resulted in the seizure of...
Ola Bini, a free software activist, human rights defender and digital security expert, has been subject to legal proceedings in Ecuador since April 2019. So far, a wide range of organizations around the world have denounced that there is political...
Amnesty International will continue to monitor the criminal proceedings against the human rights defender Ola Bini in Ecuador, after identifying human rights violations and undue interference by the government. The judiciary must ensure that any...
By Danny O'Brien Since EFF visited Ecuador three weeks ago, the investigation into open source developer Ola Bini has proceeded as we described then: drawn out, with little evidence of wrong-doing, but potentially compromised by acts of political...
Ola Bini's persecution is still ongoing. After consultations that were recently held within the framework of the XII Latin America and Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (LACIGF12), an agglomeration of organizations that defend human rights in the...
EFF Delegation Returns from Ecuador, says Ola Bini’s Case is Political, Not Criminal. Globally Recognized Technologist Still Facing Charges in Drawn-Out Prosecution. Read more here.
After almost a week in Ecuador, here are the findings of FEP in the case of Swedish free software developer, Ola Bini, a security investigator arrested in April. The consensus of the experts they spoke with was that an important factor affecting the...
El programador sueco y sus abogados temen que les "planten" alguna evidencia en sus dispositivos electrónicos, pues aunque nunca dieron las contraseñas, no descartan que hayan podido ser desbloqueados por las autoridades. Lee el artículo...
La controversial detención del sueco Ola Bini, en Quito, supone la necesidad de preguntarnos por las motivaciones del gobierno de Lenín Moreno y las de su ministra más fuerte, María Paula Romo, para propiciar un arresto sin pruebas suficientes y...
El programador sueco Ola Bini, detenido en abril por supuestamente atacar sistemas informáticos, salió en libertad luego de un pedido de Habeas Corpus. El proceso en su contra continúa y él debe presentarse todos los viernes ante la Fiscalía. En esta...
En nuestra primera emisión tuvimos a Ola Bini, desarrollador de software y programador sueco, quien contó cómo fue su detención, arbitraria e ilegal, según sus abogados, que lo llevó a la cárcel.
In a sit-down interview with teleSUR, Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini opens up about his friendship with Julian Assange, his recent arrest and unlawful imprisonment in Ecuador, giving unique insight into the deteriorating prison...
Last week, an Ecuadorian judge ordered the release of Swedish programmer and data privacy activist Ola Bini, who spent more than two months in jail without charge. Bini is a friend of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange. He was arrested in Quito on the...
These two videos are of Ola Bini showing his presence at the Prosecution's office, as requested by justice in Ecuador. This is the first time he attends. Prior to going to the office: The statement and questions after Ola Bini presented himself at...
On the evening of Thursday, June 20th, the Ecuadorian court accepted the writ of habeas corpus granting the release of renowned Swedish free software and privacy advocate Ola Bini, detained since April 11th, 2019 in Quito. After hearing the news, Ola...
Greetings to all of you at RightsCon in Tunis. My name is Ola Bini. I work on technical security and privacy issues. I’m writing to you on Friday, May 24th, 2019 from the provisional detention center El Inca, in Quito, Ecuador. I have today been...
International legal team files urgent communication with the united nations working group on arbitrary detention and other special rapporteurs against the Republic of Ecuador in respect of swedish national, Ola Bini LONDON/SAN FRANCISCO/BUENOS AIRES,...
We are getting fewer here. When I first arrived, we were around 95 people and around 30 that came only to sleep. 17 cells, almost all meant for a single person. Now we are 24 and around 20 more during night. People keep getting released. I’m glad for...
STATEMENT: ON COLLABORATION In yesterday’s bail hearing, both the prosecution and the judge claimed repeatedly that I have not been collaborating with the legal process. The implication was that keeping me in prison is a punishment for this perceived...
5 June 2019. Ola Bini, a Swedish citizen who has been a resident in Ecuador since 2013, has been in prison in Ecuador since 11 April 2019. No evidence has yet been provided that would justify the detention of Ola Bini. Ola does not know why he has...
UN Doc translation 7th May 2019 To: His excellency Sr. Emilio Rafael Izuierdo Miño Ambassador Permanent Representative Permanent Mission of the Republic of Ecuador Before the Office of the United Nations and other international organisations in...
Boredom and the occasional brush with violence is probably the worst part of prison. Boredom, frustration, anger, depression. They all come from the same place. No one here is unaffected and I suspect many will have lasting psychological damage from...
It’s evening in the cellblock. Things are fairly quiet. It was a long day. Many had visits from their lawyers, a few got released; most of them finished their sentence on Thursday, but Friday was a holiday and due to the slow administration, they...
Most of the time we are between 80 and 90 prisoners in my cellblock. Around half of those are always sick. Part of that is bad sanitation, we have little clean water, but mostly it’s because we are a lot of people crammed together in one small space....
I’m tired. Sleep deprived. Prison is much louder than I could ever imagine. And add to that sleeping on the floor, in a small room with 6 other inmates, getting rest is a significant challenge. I’ve been thinking about my situation and the case...
Just outside the door to my cellblock, is the “calabozo”, the dungeon. Officially, they are called “reflection cells”. This is where people who misbehave are sent for 12 hours or more, without food and in ugly conditions. The door has a small grid...
El Inca is a prison that contains all kinds of people. People who didn’t pay alimony, people who committed fraud, recreational drug users, drug traffickers, murderers – and me - . One thing that surprised me a lot when I came here was how important...
In this prison there are not many books. There are a few Bibles and a copy of Ben Hur in my cell block. But that’s it. I’ve seen a library when entering the prison, but I never see people there, or with new books. No one seems to know or care. This...
As they dared, we too shall dare. Even though we have all to loose, as any other Latin American citizen that goes against what power wants. But they dared against us, the people. They dared to incarcerate whomever and whenever they want without any...
Ola Bini remains in prison in Ecuador. Help spread the word by tweeting these messages.
Two weeks. Prison here in Ecuador is a maddening mix of long stretches of isolation and boredom interspersed with random threats and acts of violence. Today was a break in the structure: visitation day. You can receive max 2 visitors for 3 hours. Two...
I'm sitting in prison- I'm in my cell. It's dark, someone took all the light bulbs in the cells. So, I'm sitting close to the door, so the light from the corridor outside can allow me to see what I'm writing. I've been here a week, but it feels...
Dear Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, On April 11, Swedish national Ola Metodius Bini, a free software developer, was arrested in Quito (Ecuador). He has been living in the Republic of Ecuador for the past six years. Ola Bini is now serving a 90-day...
First, I want to thank all my supporters out there. I've been told about the attention this case is getting from all the world, and I appreciate it more than I can say. To my friends, family and nearest ones: all my love - you're constantly in my...
Ola Bini is a developer, not a criminal. As technologists, free and open source developers, and individuals and organizations working to protect the security of the Internet, we wish to protest in the strongest terms the continuing illegal detention...
People working for free software and privacy should not be criminalized There is nothing criminal about wanting privacy. Ola Bini, @olabini, a world-renowned figure in the field of free software and defender of digital rights and privacy, was...