New Zealand Prime Minister Apologises To Kim Dotcom

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, has apologised to Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom for unlawfully spying on him.

Dotcom and three of his employees were taken into custody by New Zealand police in January, after Megaupload was closed down by the US Department of Justice as part of a multinational co-operative move against online copyright infringement.

He stands accused of copyright theft, money laundering and racketeering fraud, and faces a jail sentence of up to 20 years if convicted in the US.

But there have been a number of gaffes committed by law enforcement agencies during investigations into Dotcom’s activities. In June, a New Zealand High Court declared that the search warrants used in the raid on Kim Dotcom’s residence were “invalid”, as they weren’t specific enough to be used in the case.

His extradition hearing, due to be held in August, was later pushed back to March 2013 and Dotcom is back in his mansion.

Sorry Kim

Today, Key issued an apology after a report into the interception of communications of individuals involved in the Megaupload case uncovered a number of aberrations. The PM said the investigating officers were guilty of wrongly interpreting the law.

As New Zealand law prohibits spying on citizens or those who, like Kim Dotcom, have a residence class visa, he should not have had his communications intercepted. Neither the police nor the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) picked up on this.

“It is the GCSB’s responsibility to act within the law, and it is hugely disappointing that in this case its actions fell outside the law,” Key said. “I am personally very disappointed that the agency failed to fully understand the workings of its own legislation.

“I have received an apology from the director of the GCSB and an assurance that he will take every step to rebuild public confidence in his organisation.”

Ian Fletcher, director of the GCSB, also issued an apology. “I am very sorry for the way the Bureau has handled its part in the Dotcom case,” he said. “We got this wrong.  Both factual errors and unacceptable errors of legal interpretation were compounded, most especially by our treating those interpretations as fact for too long. It should not have happened.

“I know that it will take time to regain the trust and confidence that we have lost. But I also know that we will be able to do so, and be able to re-establish the high standard of accountability expected of us.”

Dotcom himself has used his Twitter account to welcome the apologies. “Headlines from Britain to Malaysia, France to China, Germany to Brazil, Australia to the US. An apology can go a long way,” he tweeted.

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