Kim Dotcom shares first photo since life-threatening stroke, wishes followers Merry Christmas

• Kim Dotcom shared his first social media post since suffering a life-threatening stroke in November.
• Dotcom posted a photo with family, with wife Liz Dotcom calling it a “Christmas miracle”.
• Dotcom was hospitalised in early November, with his lawyer saying they had not known whether he would survive.

Kim Dotcom has shared his first social media post since suffering a life-threatening stroke amid his extradition battle.

Dotcom was hospitalised in November after having the serious stroke, just months after the Justice Minister signed an extradition order for the internet entrepreneur, who faces charges in the US.

“It’s been very serious and we honestly did not know whether he would survive or what that looks like,” his lawyer, Ron Mansfield KC, said at the time.

Now the internet mogul has made his first public post since the incident, sharing a photo to X of himself surrounded by family.

In the photo he appears to be sitting in a wheelchair, covered in a blanket, and is holding a toddler and pulling an excited face as family smile and pose around him.

“The doctors said NO! I said YES! Merry Christmas to you,” he wrote in the post.

Wife Liz Dotcom also shared the photo to her Instagram, captioning it “a Christmas miracle”.

Dotcom had made his health battle known on X in late November.

“UPDATE: I am recovering from a serious stroke. I have the best health professionals helping me to make a recovery. I will be back as soon as I can. Please be patient and pray for my family and I,” he wrote on November 25.

In 2018, Dotcom revealed his health “isn’t the best after six years of stress”.

“My doctor recommended that I stay close to Auckland,” he said.

German-born Dotcom moved to New Zealand in 2010. He has been facing potential extradition since 2012 when he was arrested as part of a global sting.

The United States Justice Department has pressed charges against Dotcom, including criminal copyright infringement, money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud.

Earlier this year, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced he had signed Dotcom’s extradition order.

Goldsmith said he had “received extensive advice from the Ministry of Justice on this matter”.

“I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” Goldsmith said.

Dotcom has vowed to fight back and can seek a review of the process.

Dotcom has been a feature of New Zealand public life almost since he arrived.

In 2012, his rented house, dubbed the “Dotcom Mansion” was raided by the Police Special Tactics Group as part of a worldwide FBI operation to take down Dotcom’s Megaupload file-sharing website, which was claimed to be at the centre of a massive criminal copyright operation.

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