FILE PICTURE. British citizen Joseph James O’Connor, 22, is led by Spanish National Police officers out of a courthouse after being arrested in connection with an alleged Twitter hack in July 2020 that compromised the accounts of high profile politicians and celebrities, according to the United States. Ministry of Justice, in Estepona, Andalusia, Spain. July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

MADRID, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Spain’s National Court agreed on Friday to extradite a British citizen wanted by the United States over a 2020 Twitter hack that compromised the accounts of several U.S. politicians, including Joe Biden and Barack Barack Obama.

Joseph James O’Connor was arrested in July 2021 in the Andalusian town of Estepona. The Spanish government has not yet confirmed the extradition. Normally, he respects these National Court decisions, although O’Connor can always appeal.

The National Court said the United States was in a better position to prosecute him because that is where the evidence obtained in the investigation is, as well as the damage caused.

O’Connor had opposed his extradition offer at an earlier hearing in Madrid.

The July 2020 Twitter hack hijacked several verified accounts, including those of then-Democratic presidential candidate Biden and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The accounts of former President Barack Obama, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Kayne West have also been hacked.

The alleged hacker used the accounts to request digital currency, prompting Twitter to block certain verified accounts from posting for several hours until security could be restored.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo; Editing in Spanish by José Muñoz and Benjamín Mejías Valencia)

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