Defendant Aleksanteri Kivimäki in the Vastaamo trial at the Helsinki Court of Appeal. Photo: Roni Rekomaa / Lehtikuva
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Aleksanteri Kivimäki has requested that the Helsinki Court of Appeal suspend his trial proceedings in the Vastaamo data breach case until a separate case involving another suspect in Estonia has concluded.
The request was made during a scheduled hearing in the ongoing appeal, where Kivimäki is challenging his conviction related to the large-scale hacking and blackmail targeting the Finnish psychotherapy centre Vastaamo.
According to the defence, the continuation of the appeal would be premature while the case against the Estonian-based co-defendant is still pending. They argued that overlapping elements between the two cases could affect the outcome of the appeal, and that it would be more appropriate to wait until the district court in Finland has handled the proceedings against the second suspect.
Prosecutors in Finland charged the Estonian resident last week with aiding and abetting an attempted aggravated extortion. The alleged crime involved assisting Kivimäki in the 2020 extortion attempt that targeted thousands of therapy clients after their confidential records were stolen and leaked online.
The defence stated that the Estonian co-defendant’s actions are central to determining the level of responsibility in the appeal process and that pausing proceedings would ensure that the legal context is fully considered before a ruling is made.
The prosecutors have formally opposed the request. They argued that the Estonian proceedings are not legally connected in a way that would justify interrupting the current appeal. They maintained that the Helsinki Court of Appeal should proceed with the scheduled hearings as planned.
The Court of Appeal has not yet made a decision on the request. A ruling on whether to pause the appeal is expected at a later date.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
