Hello and welcome to another MLEX podcast. I'm Amy Miller, Mlex's senior privacy and data security reporter in San Francisco, California.

Russian hacker Yegevni Nikoulin is being held

in a San Francisco area jail for breaking into the websites of LinkedIn and other companies in

2012 and 2013. A trial in the Closely Watch case was set for next January, but now there

are questions about Nikulin's mental health, and a federal judge has decided to postpone the trial.

Here to talk about Nekulin's case and why the trial has been delayed is Josh Sisko,

an M-Lex senior correspondent in San Francisco.

Hi, Josh.

Hi, Amy.

So how did Nekulen end up in the Santa Rita jail in Alameda County, California?

It's been a circuitous road for Mr. Kuhlin for over the last couple of years. He started off in the Czech Republic following his indictment in October 2016 by federal prosecutors

in San Francisco.

And after he was charged, he was picked up in the Czech Republic and held there for about 18 months while he fought extradition proceedings to the U.S.

Well, this doesn't appear to be a straightforward hacking case.

Why has his mental health become an issue for the court?

And what's his lawyer told the judge overseeing the case?

Essentially, his lawyer is saying that he is unable to assist in his own defense,

that he doesn't understand the charges against him,

and that he is essentially not competent to stand trial. And that's a legal term that sort of means if you can't, that he is essentially not competent to stand trial.

And that's a legal term that sort of means if you can't, if you can't assist your attorneys in preparing your own defense,

if you don't understand what's going on, then you don't have to, then you're not required to stand trial.

And you have to undergo mental health examination.

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