Redazione RHC : 18 September 2025 16:13
The High Court in London has overturned the decision to extradite Portuguese citizen Diogo Santos Coelho to the United States. The young man, known by the pseudonym Omnipotent, was the administrator of one of the largest hacker forums, RaidForums.
The story begins in January 2022, when Coelho travels to the United Kingdom to visit his mother. There, he is arrested. Since then, he has been in limbo for more than three years: two countries are fighting over his extradition.
The United States is seeking Coelho’s extradition for crimes related to his management of RaidForums. Portugal has sent its own order, citing the harm done to its organizations and citizens.
Coelho himself wanted to travel to Portugal and officially accepted extradition.
The British authorities found themselves in a difficult situation. The law provides for a special procedure in the event that multiple countries request the extradition of a person. But in his case, these rules were not respected.
The Minister of the Interior ordered Coelho to be transferred to the United States, but did so hastily. The court ruled that the decision was based on inaccurate documents and that it had been made without considering the defense’s position.
The main problem was that Coelho was not given the opportunity to present his arguments for extradition to Portugal. His arguments weren’t even considered.
Judge Linden found several violations. According to the court order, the minister was told that the U.S. and Portuguese charges were “identical,”even though the Portuguese order included additional charges of money laundering and tax fraud.
Furthermore, the decision was based on the assumption that all the victims were in the United States. But the evidence proved otherwise: the victims were scattered across the world, including Portugal itself.
The court also held that the minister failed to take into account the more serious nature of the Portuguese allegations and Coelho’s personal ties to the country. He has been diagnosed with autism, is at risk of suicide, and receives family and therapeutic support in his home country.
The Ministry of the Interior is now required to review the competing claims. Coelho was granted the right to present his arguments before a new decision is made.
As Coelho himself noted, this does not guarantee extradition to Portugal, but it does give his lawyers the opportunity to be heard. Among the defense’s arguments are the fact that some of the alleged crimes were committed when he was a minor, as well as his status as a victim of human trafficking.
Redazione