Aleksanteri Kivimäki, who was convicted by a district court for orchestrating a major data breach of the Vastaamo psychotherapy centre, has requested that his appeal case be suspended.
According to Kivimäki's defence lawyer, the appeal process should be postponed until the district court examines hears a case concerning the involvement of a new, second suspect related to the Vastaamo case.
Last week, the Prosecutor's Office announced that the new suspect in the Vastaamo case is a 28-year-old US citizen who resides in Estonia. He is suspected of aiding and abetting an aggravated extortion attempt.
After a lengthy trial at Helsinki District Court, Kivimäki was handed a six-year and three-month prison sentence in April 2024, for charges related to the hacking of the psychotherapy centre's patient database.
The district court convicted Kivimäki of an aggravated data breach offence, nearly 9,600 counts of aggravated invasion of privacy related to the dissemination of information, more than 21,300 counts of attempted aggravated extortion and 20 counts of aggravated blackmail.
It has been reported that some of the victims had allegedly taken their own lives after the patient record breach.
Earlier this month, the Helsinki Court of Appeal ordered Kivimäki's immediate release, over concerns that the time he has spent behind bars could exceed the duration of his sentence, once a final verdict is reached.
Prosecutors have voiced opposition to the request to suspend Kivimäki's appeal case.
The appeal court plans to announce a decision about the request at a later date.
