Slashdot Mirror


Pirate Bay Founder Released From Solitary Confinement

TrueSatan writes "Pirate bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm is set to be released from solitary confinement but is still to serve the remainder of a one-year sentence relating to Pirate Bay activities. Five months remain of that sentence and they are to be served in a normal prison with far fewer restrictions on his confinement — assuming no new charges are brought against him. He had been accused of involvement in the hacking of Swedish IT firm Logica, but no charges have been substantiated in that case. He was later implicated in a second case but, once more, no charges have been substantiated against him."

43 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Recursive link? by game+kid · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just don't tell their salespeople the submitted version has a working link!

    --
    You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
  2. Why solitary? by markdavis · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why would a non-violent criminal be thrown in solitary immediately and also denied access to all but one visitor? I doubt it was to protect him from other inmates.

    "Since then the Pirate Bay founder has been kept in solitary confinement, locked up 23 hours a day for weeks on end."

    "Gottfrid wasnâ(TM)t allowed to meet anyone except his mother during his solitary confinement"

    1. Re:Why solitary? by DreamMaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

      According to previous articles, it was to prevent him either directly using his 'leet' computer skills to destroy evidence relevant to the case, or co-ordinating with others to do so. Which I thought was a bit of a croc. After all, they could always monitor any computer use to ensure that he didn't, and if he was going to conspire with any others to destroy any purported evidence, he could do so just as easily through his mother as in person.

      I can't help but feel that it seems like, more and more, we're seeing cases around the world where prosecutors abusing pre-trial incarceration to make it a de-facto sentence irrespective of a person's eventual guilt or innocence. But I also recognise that I don't know the full details of the case, so it's always possible that the prosecutor fears were legitimate.

    2. Re:Why solitary? by Swampash · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Betcha he's wishing he'd just assaulted, raped, and/or killed a bunch of people rather than running a legal information-sharing website.

    3. Re:Why solitary? by wwalker · · Score: 3, Informative

      Who the hell cares if the prosecutor's fears were legitimate? What happened to the whole "innocent until proven guilty"?! I can see placing someone in solitary because he/she can potentially cause someone to get killed or do other serious harm. We are talking about goddamn computers here. I have legitimate fears that my neighbors are piggybacking on my WiFi, should we place them in solitary as well?!

    4. Re:Why solitary? by wwalker · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's a good thing they didn't find pot on him, he'd already be serving life without parole...

    5. Re:Why solitary? by Trepidity · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Reminds me of why Kevin Mitnick was put in solitary confinement:

      Dubbed the "most dangerous hacker in the world," Mitnick was put in solitary confinement and prevented from using a phone after law enforcement officials convinced a judge that he had the ability to start a nuclear war by whistling into a pay phone.

    6. Re:Why solitary? by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But the DMCA, which is US law, had a lot with putting him there.

      Almost ten years ago I said that when your "product" can be reproduced in the millions by a single kid using a $100 device and a mouse click, and hundreds of millions of ten year olds have that device, the ONLY way to stop it would be to create a global surveillance network capable of detecting these millions of people clicking their mouse... ...and then a global fascist government to go after them.

      It's scary when I make such predictions and see them starting to become true.

      It hasn't been mentioned on slashdot yet, but this week has seen a MASSIVE attack on NZB indexing sites, several have been taken down, others have been flooded with so many DMCA requests (despite not being in the US) that they can't cope with the load of them.

      This is the beginning of the end of the internet.

      Welcome to your new ComCast Internet, where for the low price of $79.99 you can get our "basic" set of internet web sites, or for $249.99 you can get "unlimited" use of HUNDREDS of approved websites.

      New websites being added yearly to new service level tiers!

      --
      This space available.
    7. Re:Why solitary? by DigiShaman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's why you setup a dead man switch. If you don't interface with you servers/network for X amount of time, a low-level format process starts automatically.

      Not that I've ever done such a thing. Just saying...

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    8. Re:Why solitary? by sjames · · Score: 2

      Innocent until proven guilty may be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, but it is also a much broader legal principle that should be expected in any civilized legal system. The U.S. founding fathers didn't just make these things up all by themselves.

    9. Re:Why solitary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      prosecutors abusing pre-trial incarceration to make it a de-facto sentence irrespective of a person's eventual guilt or innocence

      One of Sweden's most senior prosecutors have even stated in public that the solitary confinement can and should be used this way, in the context of sexual abuse. It would not be a surprise if the prosecutor would use it the same way in other cases.

      http://oldwolf-vindenviskarmittnamn.blogspot.se/2012/06/julian-assange-advokat-per-e-samuelson.html

    10. Re:Why solitary? by Xest · · Score: 3, Informative

      Sweden seems to have a hardon for solitary confinement, that's why, and it's been criticised for it's overuse of it on a number of occasions:

      http://www.thelocal.se/1927/20050822/#.UMXFq4Yyryg

      http://www.thelocal.se/22620/20091013/#.UMXFuIYyryg

      They even asked the UK to hold Assange in solitary confinement whilst he awaited the outcome of his extradition appeals (bear in mind, Assange still, to this day, has not been charged with anything so they were asking for solitary without even a charge being brought) but luckily British justice is at least not quite as backwards as in Sweden.

      It's weird because their neighbour, Norway, has arguably the most progressive justice system in the world in contrast and the countries otherwise have a lot of shared history and culture. I don't know why the Swedes handle justice in such a barbaric backwards manner in comparison.

    11. Re:Why solitary? by tommeke100 · · Score: 2

      aah, the Myth of the dead man switch :)
      Back in my C64 and Amiga days (talking '89-'90), we went to this local 'computer club' where you could 'rent' pirated games (and copy them yourself) for 50 cent a game or something like that.
      It was really small scale, just the local town kids with Amigas/C64's went there (the guys operating the club were in my high school).
      Rumor has it they had some type of pulley lever with a huge magnet at the front door so if there was trouble at the door they could just pull the switch and lower the big magnet on the stock of floppy/3" disks in the back room to erase them :-).

  3. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He and his mother have described it as such. I guess it depends on your threshold. He was allowed to receive occasional family visitors, but was held in a cell by himself 23 hours/day, which is a typical solitary-confinement setup.

  4. Give them a break by Y-Crate · · Score: 4, Funny

    They thought they had Gilbert Gottfried in custody. An immediate trip to solitary seemed to be the only humane thing they could do for the rest of the prisoners.

    1. Re:Give them a break by Sulphur · · Score: 2

      They thought they had Gilbert Gottfried in custody. An immediate trip to solitary seemed to be the only humane thing they could do for the rest of the prisoners.

      Especially if he told the one about life in prison not being too bad.

  5. Re:Recursive link? by cffrost · · Score: 2

    Recursive link?

    Whatever you say, buddy.

    --
    Thank you, Edward Snowden.

    "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  6. When Cameron was in Egypt's Land... by cffrost · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Let my

        Pirate

            Goooooo...

    --
    Thank you, Edward Snowden.

    "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
    1. Re:When Cameron was in Egypt's Land... by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are untold societal benefits for piracy. Sure the funding of creating new media would have to be worked from the ground up, like Kickstarters. But you can't deny that if every work of man was available online for free, that good things wouldn't happen immediately and set yourself up for a more cultured/educated society down the road. And free books alone would save K-12 schools a fortune(10,000$ a student) when they move to ereaders and could be the solution we need. I don't need to preach to the choir(Slashdot), but it is easy to see there are lots of benefits for allowing everything online for free. While the only argument every kneejerker gives is,"If you can't make money on media, no one would ever write a book again! We might as well just abandon civilization."

  7. hypocrisy exposed again by bzipitidoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The powers that be are clinging hard to their ownership "paradise", demonstrating yet again that they are willing to simply trample upon the law when they can't change it enough to suit themselves. Decency and the good of society be damned, when they aren't clothing themselves in fake morality.

    History is full of reactionary, entrenched interests struggling mightily to hold back change for the better, and failing every time but not before causing a great deal of damage and misery. A few people were burnt at the stake for using the Gutenberg press to print unsanctioned Bibles. Monarchists executed many democrats. The US Civil War was one of the most extreme cases. Today we have Big Oil fighting to deny that there is a global warming problem, to the point it seems they really would rather see hundreds of coastal metropolises drown or go to the prohibitive expense of building dikes along the entire coast, if that meant they could keep selling oil. Otherwise they would have to develop and tap new sources of energy. They might have to hire more engineers and scientists, and even train more, heaven forbid!

    Big Media's hypocrisy is exposed again. What next? Would be nice if humanity advanced to the point that reactionary moves were immediately discerned and those trying any dirty pool were swiftly censured. Then these kinds of differences would be resolved before the mud or bullets flew.

    --
    Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
    1. Re:hypocrisy exposed again by BeanThere · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem is that the average man on the street lacks morality. I mean here in the US we just voted in the same president again that signed in Indefinite Detention - how is that better than this? - and we still continue to believe in (and vote for) violently arresting and locking up innocent people for victimless crimes like smoking a little weed, or prostitution, or violating their natural rights based on their sexual preference ... it's easy to point fingers at "the media" but really the core of problem is ordinary folk like those around us with immoral beliefs, we're the same immoral people who go work in 'big media'. It's not just "the powers that be" that are corrupt - we're all corrupt - we all have 'fake morality'.

    2. Re:hypocrisy exposed again by Tom · · Score: 2

      Yes, but - and (in the words of Ben Goldacre) it's a big butt - you are judging after the fact, while those people who did those things had to judge while the story was still developing.

      I'm sure there are just as many examples of extremist, reactionary, counter-revolutionary or just plain evil changes that were (successfully) fought off, if you were just looking for them. You select strongly. Not every change is positive, just because it is a change. Think of Stalinism or the Nazis, of the plague (brought to Europe by changes in trade routes) or Global Warming. Those are changes, too.

      So basically, we are still at the same spot. Not every change is good, and quite often you don't know until later who was right and who was wrong. Abolishing slavery turned out to be right, even though many people at the time thought it was wrong. Abolishing the regulations on banks turned out to be wrong, even though many people at the time thought it was right.

      I stand on your side regarding this particular case. But I don't think that everyone fighting against a change is automatically on the side of evil, or that we can find the truth just by checking who is for and who is against change. It's not that simple.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  8. Assange was right after all by flyingfsck · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think I now understand why Assange prefers the Colombian embassy over going to Sweden to explain trumped up charges. If someone gets chucked into solitary before trial for running a business that is essentially similar to Google search, then I can't imagine what they will do to a guy that was accused of rape by two bar floozies. You are not paranoid if they really are out to get you.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
    1. Re:Assange was right after all by Runaway1956 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm a US citizen, and I both understand and agree with your position. Women have been kicked, spit on, shat on, slapped around, taken for granted, denied human rights, bought and sold and given away since time immemorial. They need to stand up for themselves. But - feminazis are no better than the swine that real feminists are fighting against.

      The same argument applies to downtrodden races whose members suddenly want to see all white men put to death. They are the same bigots that their races are fighting against.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  9. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by bonehead · · Score: 2

    Well, first you have to actually get INTO prison. That's the easy part. Get creative.

    Once your there, assaulting a few of the guards ought to buy you some time in solitary.

  10. Manning was totally isolated by dutchwhizzman · · Score: 2

    Manning was (is?) totally isolated from his family and only got to see a guard every few hours that came to check on him being alive and people interrogating him. That's a bit different from being able to sleep and meet your family. Both aren't a situation where I'd would want to be in, but if I had to choose....

    --
    I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
  11. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by dissy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He was never IN solitary confinement

    You have an interesting description of being locked in a small room for 23 hours a day and not being allowed visitors, including his lawyer.

    What pray tell do you personally believe solitary confinement would be?

  12. Ecuadorian embassy. by mapuche · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ecuadorian embassy. Colombia has a right wing govnt. Ecuador a left wing one.

  13. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As a person who have myself been in the same situation as Gottfrid, in solitary confinement in a Swedish jail (häkte), I can assure you that it is a very demanding and unpleasing situation. The psychological and emotional effects of being in a small cell is very hard, much harder than it is possible to understand by reason. These cells are used by Swedish police to break people, to break hardened criminals, and for a normal person it is no easier.
    Amnesty International has even issued criticism towards Sweden for the way solitary confinement is used by prosecutors, and this is no laughing matter.

  14. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by Runaway1956 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    What is interesting, to me, is the fact that charges of fraud and hacking seem to be handled in much the same way that treason and leaking state secrets are dealt with. In the case of treason, I can go a long way toward justifying solitary confinement, especially when the suspect has shown some possibly suicidal tendencies. In the case of mere fraud - no way. And, the suspect is far from suicidal, removing that little justification for close monitoring. More, there is no mention of solitary for his own protection, as was mentioned with Manning.

    Tell me again which judicial system is more corrupt.

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  15. Swedish Law/Constitution by andersh · · Score: 3, Informative

    it is also a much broader legal principle that should be expected in any civilized legal system.

    It is guaranteed by law in all European countries including Sweden.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_6_of_the_European_Convention_on_Human_Rights

    1. Re:Swedish Law/Constitution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Sweden's use of "häktning" has repeatedly been criticised on human rights grounds as it is repeatedly used to keep people in detention without bringing charges for a long time without charges brought, often under stricter conditions than in prison. It is one of several features of the Swedish judicial system that is cause for concern.
      A person can be put in häkte as soon as a degree of suspicion is established (in an objective manner the law says, circumstantial evidence is OK for this). The purpose of the detention is basically to keep the suspect from interfering with the investigation or legging it, hence the quite severe restrictions on interaction with anything outside of the cell. It is a prosecutor's wet dream.
      For the lower of the two degrees of suspicion, the detention order has to be renewed every 7 days, for the higher degree every two weeks. Repeat as necessary. This can (and does) cause people who are merely under suspicion (that is, has not yet been charged with a crime) to be held in häkte for extensive period of times.
      For some really worrying bits of the Swedish judicial system, look at the practice of lay judges, or for that the professional judges, the obsession with procedure rather than justice being served.

    2. Re:Swedish Law/Constitution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not to mention there's no upper limit on how long a person can be "häktad" (detained). There was a recent case of a guy who was detained for ~3 years before being released (the case was dropped).

      http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/folkmordsmisstankt-slapps-ur-hakte_6352020.svd [Swedish]

  16. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, first you have to actually get INTO prison. That's the easy part. Get creative.

    Once your there, assaulting a few of the guards ought to buy you some time in solitary.

    Its perfectly possible to get them to pay for your flights to the US too (and return flight on expulsion at the end of the sentence). It appears that the best crimes to commit are to provide links to torrent sites or to release US government information. You could take some tips from Julian Assange. WHat you don't want to do is anything like funding or encouraging terrorism or the courts will fight to keep you from the USA for years

  17. Fully Protected, High Risk Convict by andersh · · Score: 3, Informative

    There are very few countries in the world in general that use Common Law, it is however no requirement for a bill of rights or human rights. All European countries have equal protections [to the US Bill of Rights] and more by way of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    What I find strange is that none of you considered the fact that he is convicted of the crime for which he is serving time. He subsequently fled the jurisdiction and is obviously not only a flight risk, has the ability to and great interest in destroying evidence against himself. It's perfectly understandable that the police would want him isolated.

    Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is a provision of the European Convention which protects the right to a fair trial. In criminal law cases and cases to determine civil rights it protects the right to a public hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal within reasonable time, the presumption of innocence, and other minimum rights for those charged in a criminal case (adequate time and facilities to prepare their defence, access to legal representation, right to examine witnesses against them or have them examined, right to the free assistance of an interpreter).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_6_of_the_European_Convention_on_Human_Rights

  18. Outside the Court by andersh · · Score: 2

    The presumption of innocence applies to the trial, not when gathering evidence. In the previous case for which he is serving time, he was awarded his freedom pre and post trial. He fled the country to escape justice afterwards! Now, they have every right to ensure he does not make arrangements to have evidence destroyed in the ongoing investigation [of the Logica case].

    You may disagree with the conviction and the evidence in the previous trial, but it's a valid conviction as it stands. We have to respect the law and authority of Swedish courts.

  19. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by Nerdfest · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As treason is effectively working against the interests of the government, these days copyright infringement probably qualifies.

  20. Overly Concerned by andersh · · Score: 2

    Sweden's use of "häktning" has repeatedly been criticised on human rights grounds

    Yes, criticised on the basis of the convention. It's a cause for concern, but it doesn't diminish the importance or value of the treaty in general or with regards to Swedish law. I'm also a Scandinavian (Norwegian/Swedish family) and a trained lawyer.

    That you would attack the practice of "lay judges" surprises me! I find that it gives our system a democratic element without burdening the average citizen too much and avoids making a mockery of due process with American style juries. I think our system is excellent, full juries are not needed in courts of first instance. Are you Swedish by the way?

  21. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by MozeeToby · · Score: 2

    He was never in solitary confinement because Swedish jails do not have solitary confinement, therefore he couldn't have been in solitary confinement. No, regardless of if he was, in fact, confined to a cell barely larger than a twin sized bed. That's irreverent, because as I said, they don't do solitary confinement in Sweden. It's also immaterial that he was, in fact, kept out of contact with other people; that certainly doesn't mean he was in solitary confinement.

    The sad thing is that I feel the need to add this disclaimer that I am making fun of the people who fail at logic so hard. I meant it to be woefully obvious parody, but in re-reading it I see little difference between it and what at least a few people have posted in all seriousness.

  22. Whistling into a phone by wisnoskij · · Score: 2

    Obviously they had to prevent him form whistling into a phone and starting WW3.

    --
    Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  23. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by tehcyder · · Score: 2

    Having only my own company 23 hours a day and being fed and watered for free sounds... absolutely awesome.

    Which crimes can I commit in the UK to get this?

    Try blowing your brains out wih an unlicensed firearm, we're pretty hot on gun control.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  24. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by tehcyder · · Score: 2

    But then wouldn't tax evasion also fall into the same category?

    Only rich people evade taxes, so no.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  25. Re:He was never IN solitary confinement by MoaDweeb · · Score: 2

    Tax Avoidance = Rich people. i.e Sending money to the Cayman Islands and having it come back as Capital gains. Tax Evasion = Poor people. i.e. Taking cash jobs and not declaring the income. Avoidance is the LEGAL minimisation of taxation due, evasion is the ILLEGAL minimisation.

    --
    New Zealanders are well balanced with a chip on each shoulder. One represents Australia, the other the rest of the world