Pirate Bay Co-Founder Gottfrid Svartholm Gets Jail Time and a $1.1 Million Fine
Pirate Bay Co-Founder Gottfrid Svartholm Gets Jail Time and a $1.1 Million Fine
Posted 10/16/2011 at 11:18am
| by Justin Kerr
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A Stockholm District Court has handed down its sentence against Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm, and he’ll be spared the whip, but little else. Assuming he ever turns up, he’ll be forced to serve a one year jail sentence and pony up a cool $1.1 million to pay off his debt to society. Svartholm’s fate was decided separately from his fellow Pirate Bay crew as a result of medical complications that prevented him from attending the original trial; however, these same complications prevented him from attending the new proceedings as well. As if being sentenced to a prison term without being present wasn’t bizarre enough, Svartholm’s lawyer admits he has no clue where is client is, or even if he is dead or alive.
In an interview with TorrentFreak, Peter Sunde, one of the three remaining defendants, claims he is appalled with how the court handled the case. “I think it’s kind of strange putting a guy into jail because he’s too sick to appear in court,” Sunde says. “Also, nobody is in contact with him, for all we know he might be dead since no-one can reach him.” “This is actually a really bizarre step from the Swedish court – he’s found guilty because he can’t defend himself. Way to go, democracy. It will be interesting to see how they will actually try to find him and put him into jail. If he’s not alive – will they put his gravestone into a jail cell for a year?”
Svartholm’s failure to appear before the courts also means he is no longer entitled to appeal the sentence, and he has been ordered by the courts to turn himself over to the authorities. What do you make of the case?
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georgey
October 17, 2011 at 6:52am
"he’ll be forced to serve a one year jail sentence and pony up a cool $1.1 million..."
$1.1 million, I hardly think the punishment fits the crime. Sweden doesn't fine murderers as severely.
KenLV
October 17, 2011 at 4:01pm
Completely fallacious statement. Prison sentences, even in Sweden, for convicted murderers are certainly more severe than 1 year. And while I can’t say in Sweden, but a wrongful death suit against a convicted murderer in the US will net you plenty.
bling581
October 17, 2011 at 9:48am
You see people getting sued for outrageous amounts in any country because the entertainment industry is bribing, pressuring, or doing whatever to governments and it's officials to do their bidding. You get caught in the US downloading 20-30 songs online and can end up with tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Piracy is a severe crime, didn't you know? :)
kris79
October 17, 2011 at 5:54am
Hahahahahaha! GoGo Gottfried! Keep giving our Masters of Media, and their stooge judges the finger...
mario_ramalho
October 17, 2011 at 4:38am
That's ok. I used to work for a company who fired a guy for not showing up and not giving them notice. As it turned out, the guy had a heart attack and died... He was still fired. The place, NC, USA.
West996
October 16, 2011 at 1:54pm
Sure it seems harsh to put a sick guy in prison, but how do we know he is sick? The reverse situation would be equally appalling if not more so. What are we do to? Let the guy off indefinatley until he decides to show himself? What sort of precident does that send? Don't show up for court and they'll never sentence you? I don't see that the courts have much of a choice in a case like this.
sundropdrinker3
October 16, 2011 at 2:45pm
If you don't show up for your court date here, an order for your arrest is issued. You also don't get denied the right to appeal a decision. Those 2 things are the issue, not that he may or may not be sick.
KenLV
October 16, 2011 at 3:49pm
“If you don't show up for your court date here…”
But they AREN’T being tried here. You don’t get to have it both ways.
They felt safe operating where they are because they (as it turns out) falsely believed that Swedish law would protect them from prosecution for their illegal activities. They were not then concerned with the laws of other countries, so why should we be concerned with how Swedish law treats them now? You don’t get to pick and choose which laws apply to you and which don’t and which procedures you want and don’t. In Sweden, if you don’t show up to court dates and you don’t keep the court informed of your location and status, you can, and should, be tried in absentia (just as HERE). The difference is the appeals process, or lack thereof in his case. If even your lawyer can’t find you, well, that’s not the court being irresponsible, it’s you.
RaptorJohnson
October 16, 2011 at 1:04pm
I don't have a problem with the sentancing ( I'm pretty sure the trail was fair and he was guilty) but I think it's kind of alarming that he cannot get an apeal for failing to show up. That seems like a pretty basic right to me, and the failure to show up could be delt with by contempt of court charges.
kris79
October 17, 2011 at 4:28pm
You are right. According to TorrentFreak, he's in Cambodia - where he's getting money for nothing and the girls are free! Relatively speaking, that is...
iceman08
October 16, 2011 at 11:43am
"Sorry for not appearing. I've been sick and the doctors say I have only months to live."
"SUCKS TO BE YOU!!!!1!!! We require of you one meellion dollars and life in jail."
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