Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Extradition of Warez Suspect Blocked

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the holed-up-down-under dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Following up on an earlier Slashdot story, the extradition of alleged DrinkorDie leader Hew Raymond Griffiths has been denied. The judge in the case ruled that Griffiths, an Australian who had never set foot in the United States, had committed the alleged actions in Australia and had never fled from an extradition country. Therefore, the US hadn't made its case. Griffiths' attorney points out that he should have faced trial in Australia if anywhere, but .au authorities never charged him, which upset the DOJ and led to the extradition attempt. More info can also be found. The US (represented by Australian prosecutors) have fifteen days to appeal. One wonders how the US government would react if a foreign nation tried a similar approach."

9 of 691 comments (clear)

  1. good for them. by mushroom+blue · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not a fan of piracy, but if Australia felt like going easy on him, that's his concern. he never broke a law in the united states. is someone going to arrest me for a law I broke in Ukraine?

    this could have set a dangerous precedent. considering how foreigners rights can be trampled due to the PATRIOT act, I'm glad we can't add unlawful and/or unwilling extradition to the list of powers we hold over non-citizens.

  2. Favourite Quote by notamac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the decision is a strong message to the United States Department of Justice that it will not be allowed to hijack the laws of a sovereign nation merely because it is dissatisfied with said country's laws

    Here here! Even if our laws do need adjusting, I'd hate to think that American laws applied applied on my home turf - or any other countries for that matter.
    Still, piracy is bad, and it hurts my pocket, so I hope that he can be prosecuted in Australia still.

    1. Re:Favourite Quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh man! You must be so naive its just not funny...

      The US have relied on trade negotiations to enforce their foreign policy around the globe for decades. If you honestly think that this is the first example of American laws being applied in Australia or anywhere else you're sadly mistaken. Drug policy globally is dictated by the US, for a start, and thats really just a start.

      Plus for one final putdown; the guy was involved in the circumvention of anti-piracy measures in software. In other words, he just cracked the games - he didn't host warez servers, he didn't courier the games, he just played around with software, which thankfully isn't a crime in Australia yet. In the US it is illegal, and they wanted to charge him with breaches copyright breaches in the 10s of millions of dollars. Australia sensibly said that he broke no crime here and so can't be convicted of a crime in another country.

      Honestly, its actually a bit of a no story. Its just because we have the 'cyberspace' connections (and no doubt the zeal of the RIAA, MPAA etc) that this was even thought about as an option. An equivalent scenario would be the US seeking to extradite someone from Australia who drank alcohol back in the prohibition days. Its just ridiculous.

  3. Well, I hate to say it... by Gleenie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... but finally my country shows some spine. He should be prosecuted in Australia, under Australian law. If the department of public prosecutions has seen fit not to charge him, then it either means that a) they don't think there's a case, or b) they're out chasing murderers like they should be.

    No offence intended to my American colleagues, but please respect everyone else's borders!

    --
    -- Your mother uses Emacs.
  4. Re:Thats a new twist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've seen this several times now - someone referring to Australia as 'Aussie'.

    What the fuck? An Aussie would be an Australian, not the fucking country.

    Can America be referred to as Yankee? Can Britan be referred to as Brit? No for fuck's sake!

  5. It's a no-brainer. by BadDoggie · · Score: 5, Insightful
    One wonders how the US government would react if a foreign nation tried a similar approach.

    The US wouldn't accept it.

    In 1984, the World Court ordered the U.S. to respect Nicaragua's borders and to halt the mining of its harbors by the CIA. In 1986, the World Court found our country guilty of violations of international law through its support of the Contras and ordered the payment of reparation to Nicaragua. Needless to say, we ignored both of those rulings.

    Now, we must affirm that the United States will not cede its sovereignty to an institution which claims to have the power to override the United States legal system and to pass judgment on our foreign policy actions. We must refuse to allow our soldiers and Government officials to be exposed to trial for promoting the national security interests of the United States and deny the international court's self-declared right to investigate, prosecute, convict, and punish U.S. citizens for supposed crimes committed on American soil which is arguably unconstitutional.

    [Emphasis mine]

    The U.S. steadfastly refuses to play by its own rules, much less anyone else's.

    woof.

  6. On wonders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One wonders how the US government would react if a foreign nation tried to invade it because it
    stockpiles weapons of mass destruction.

  7. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  8. John Howard has nothing to do with this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How the fuck is John Howard (Australian Prime Minister) getting any credit for this? This was a court decision ... from a judge. Please don't give any credit to Mr Coward, we all know he would have bent over to the US in a hearbeat. Sheesh.