Ecuador revoked the Swedish programmer’s residency visa and notified him that an administrative deportation process had begun.
Swedish programmer and cyberactivist Ola Bini was detained by Ecuadorian immigration authorities in Quito after his residency visa was revoked and an administrative deportation process was opened against him, according to documents issued by the Migration Subsecretariat.
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Bini reported his detention on social media, saying he had been taken to immigration offices in northern Quito. At 3:09 p.m., he wrote on X: “An hour ago I was detained by Ecuadorian migration authorities. They say they have revoked my visa. I am at the immigration office opposite El Jardín. I fear they are going to destroy my life again.”
Urgente! Hace una hora fue retenido de migración de Ecuador. Dicen que han revocado mi visa!! Estoy en migración frente a El Jardín. Temo que van a destruir mi vida otra vez.
— Ola Bini – (@ola@infosec.exchange) (@olabini) October 1, 2026
According to his lawyer, Carlos Soria, Bini was intercepted by a vehicle as he was leaving a supermarket to go shopping. Four people got out of the vehicle before taking him to the Migration Subsecretariat offices at the intersection of Amazonas and República avenues, opposite the El Jardín shopping center.
Documents issued by the Migration Subsecretariat state that, following a formal review of Bini’s immigration status, authorities determined that he allegedly met a legal ground for deportation. He was subsequently notified of the order initiating administrative deportation proceedings.
Bini’s defense has described the detention as irregular and questioned the manner in which he was approached. His lawyers said they would take legal action to challenge the administrative measure.
URGENTE 🔴
El activista Ola Bini denunció que fue retenido por agentes de migración y que su visa sería revocada,
aunque no ha recibido ninguna notificación legal.
Según un parte judicial es considerado como una “amenaza para la seguridad pública”, por lo que podría ser deportado pic.twitter.com/Sx72LEt8ow— Wambra Medio Comunitarioᅠ (@wambraEc) October 1, 2026
Text Reads: URGENT 🔴
Activist Ola Bini reported that he was detained by immigration agents and that his visa would be revoked,
even though he has not received any legal notification.
According to a court report, he is considered a “threat to public safety,” which is why he could be deported.
Bini’s legal case in Ecuador
Bini has lived in Ecuador since 2013 and became internationally known after his arrest in April 2019 on allegations that he had gained unauthorized access to Ecuadorian government computer systems. The case unfolded amid political tensions surrounding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, with whom Bini was friends.
In January 2023, after nearly four years of proceedings and multiple postponed hearings, a Pichincha Criminal Guarantees Court unanimously acquitted Bini. The court found that prosecutors had failed to present concrete evidence showing that any computer system had been compromised.
The prosecution appealed the ruling. In April 2024, an appellate chamber of the Pichincha Provincial Court, by majority decision, overturned the earlier acquittal and sentenced Bini to one year in prison, classifying the offense as an attempted crime.
His defense called the ruling irregular and announced plans to appeal to Ecuador’s National Court of Justice.
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