VILNIUS, August 5 (RAPSI) - Several Latvian lawyers are taking on the case of Deniss Calovskis, a hacker waiting to be extradited to the US, pro bono, according to Latvian media.

One of the attorneys, Saulvedis Varpinsh told Latvian reporters that the lawyers agreed to do this to prevent further extraditions of Latvian citizens to the US.

According to mixnews.lv, Calovskis, 27, who resides in Riga, has been charged with using a Gozi virus to infect over a million computers worldwide, including at NASA, the US space agency. Should Calovskis be extradited to the US, he is facing a sentence of up 67 years in jail.

"This is not about Calovskis, this is about the citizens of Latvia. Today, Calovskis. Tomorrow a neighbor, relative, a friend. A man can adhere to his country's laws, be a law abiding citizen but then an extradition request comes through: "Please extradite this person, he is in violation of our laws"

Varpinsh says that the US can demand "if not half, then surely a one third of the Latvian population," on the mere assumption that they broke American software licensing laws. The US- Latvian extradition treaty presently states that extradition is performed in all cases that may result in more than a one-year sentence.