AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a man suspected of involvement in the cyber-bullying case of Amanda Todd may be extradited to Canada.
Aydin Coban, 38, denies involvement in Todd’s case. Todd sparked an international debate over cyber-bullying when she posted a YouTube video detailing her online harassment by an unknown tormenter. She committed suicide in 2012 at age 15.
In a written ruling published on Tuesday, the Supreme Court rejected arguments by Coban’s Dutch lawyer that Canada’s extradition request was flawed. The way is now cleared for his extradition, though under Dutch law the country’s Justice Minister must personally approve the request before it can be carried out.
Coban was convicted in the Netherlands in March and sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for convincing 34 young girls and five gay men to take off their clothes in front of web cams and then using the images to blackmail them.
The Dutch case is not directly related to Todd’s case, although there are similarities.
In the Dutch case, judges found Coban first won victims’ trust and convinced them to send him compromising sexual images. Then he began to demand more and threatened to expose naked images of them if they refused.
The court found he followed through on those threats, sending sexual images to families and friends of his victims.
Todd suffered two years of similar abuse after revealing her breasts on camera to a stranger.
Canada is seeking Coban’s extradition on charges including extortion, possession of child pornography, and attempting to lure a child online. He is not accused of responsibility for her death.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Stephen Powell)
