Montenegro holds Iranian hacker Amir Barati pending US extradition request

The Ministry of Justice of Montenegro received a formal request on 15 July from United States authorities to extradite Iranian citizen Amir Barati, who is being held in an extradition detention centre in Montenegro. Barati was arrested on 25 June in Kotor after a joint operation by Montenegrin police and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Barati participated in large‑scale cyber attacks on at least 150 American universities and stole confidential data and intellectual property, causing estimated damages of more than $3.4 billion in support of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The case mirrors accusations against the so‑called “Mabna group” from 2018, which was also linked to attacks on hundreds of universities worldwide.

Montenegro’s legal process will consider citizenship, risk of political, religious or racial persecution, and human‑rights concerns before any decision on extradition is made. The U.S. embassy in Podgorica declined to provide further details.