Co-founder of The Pirate Bay (TPB) torrent file sharing website Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was arrested by Cambodian authorities late last week. Mr Warg was wanted on charges of copyright infringement in his home country of Sweden. He skipped the appeal and sentencing “due to illness” and it was well known he had fled Sweden for a Holiday in Cambodia.
Sentenced to one year in prison
Mr Warg was found guilty in 2009 alongside the other three founders of TPB on a charge of violating copyright laws. The group were originally handed down sentences of a year each in prison and fines totalling £2.8 million. The Pirate Bay founders decided to appeal and at a hearing in 2010 Mr Warg’s defence lawyer said he had fallen ill while on holiday in Cambodia so couldn’t appear in court. The other three TBP founders got sentences reduced to between four and ten months terms, however the damages payment request increased to £4.7 million. Mr Warg failed to turn up to serve his prison term so Swedish authorities issued an international arrest warrant.
Should have gone to Ecuador?
Speaking to the AFP news agency Cambodian national police spokesman Kirth Chantharith said “His arrest was made at the request of the Swedish government for a crime related to information technology. We don't have an extradition treaty with Sweden but we'll look into our laws and see how we can handle this case.”
The report says that Mr Warg was living in a riverside apartment above The Cadillac Bar in Phnom Penh’s main tourist area and police apprehended him there. If the deportation plane takes him directly to Sweden he will then have to do his one year’s porridge. Also there may be the question of Warg’s share of the £4.7 million fine.
