
Pirate Bay founder is being held in solitary confinement without a warrant - hseldon15
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2318828/pirate-bay-founder-is-being-held-in-solitary-confinement-without-a-warrant
======
Erwin
This is standard procedure. The alleged criminal is remanded typically up to 4
weeks at a time, and optionally isolated. This can go on for a bit if the
alleged criminal is expected to flee, destroy evidence and that type of thing.

The headline and the article fail to stress why he's being imprisoned. It's
unrelated to Pirate Bay, and has due to extensive intrusion into Danish
government and police databases. Don't mistake this "cracker" type for some
kind of brave fighter against restrictive copyright regime.

According to the article he's in solitary confinement.. "among violent
criminals".

~~~
sillysaurus2
So all authorities have to do to extinguish any "copyright freedom fighter" is
to invent charges against them. Then apparently everyone will be A-OK with
throwing them in solitary.

I think it's unlikely. But I also think authorities are sometimes corrupt. The
only reason we know anything about this case is because they told us things.
We're quick to believe them. Why?

~~~
Svip
You think the charges are invented? Why?

~~~
jbri
It shouldn't matter whether these specific charges are made-up or not. At this
point they're unproven allegations, and it's up to a court to decide whether
they're valid or not.

It's important to realize that anytime you give the police power over people
still facing trial, you give them that same power over anyone they can
fabricate spurious charges against. That's why it's important to have things
like warrants and pre-trial court orders, so that there's some accountability
when the police detain someone over unproven allegations.

~~~
Svip
Yes. And there has been. He was extradited by a Swedish court. And he was put
in solidarity by a Danish court before his trial begins. Or is that not a
close to warrant/pre-trial court orders?

~~~
jbri
I'll confess I'm not intimately familiar with the details of this case, and
I'm speaking in generalities.

But still - it doesn't matter whether the charges are invented or not, or even
what those charges are. What matters is that a judge (not the police) ruled
that he should be held until his trial.

~~~
ivanca
Is extremely wrong that a system trying to impose justice put its suspects
under psychological abuse before trial, making them hate society, and
therefore increasing the possibility of actually becoming criminals.

------
devindotcom
He was already in prison in Sweden, but was extradited last month and is in
police custody, but apparently being denied visitations from family and his
lawyer requires a special order which the police have not gotten. It's
trumped-up stuff and not due legal process, but at the same time it's not like
he's being held in a secret location after being thrown in an unmarked van.
Here's hoping his rights are respected more thoroughly soon.

[http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-held-in-
solitary-...](http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-held-in-solitary-
confinement-without-a-warrant-131211/)

------
GigabyteCoin
Admit it. You hit the upvote button before reading the article because of the
headline. I know I did, and now I want my upvote back.

I had completely forgotten about the hacking charges and his extradition from
Malaysia. After watching the pirate bay documentary, I am fairly certain that
somebody with his level of "enthusiasm" for his cause could have easily
perpetrated the crimes he is accused of.

~~~
jrockway
It's best to punish people _after_ judicial review. Has he been able to call
witnesses on his behalf? No. Has he been able to cross-examine the
government's witnesses against him? No. _That 's_ the problem.

I have no idea how the legal system in Denmark works, but it seems unfair to
punish him in the short-term without judicial review, and in the long-term
without a trial by his peers.

------
rayiner
Can someone who knows Danish law explain what it means to be held "without a
warrant" in Denmark?

~~~
Erwin
Generally if you are suspected of comitting a sufficiently serious crime --
where the prison term would be 18 months and above -- you can be remanded if
there's a suspicion you are going to interfere with the investigation or flee.

The prosecutor requests the remandment, and a judge has to approve within a
short period after the arrest (or release the suspect).

Isolation here can be requested if there's a suspicion the alleged criminal
can interfere with the investigation, warn others, destroy evidence etc. by
communicating.

You can try Google translate on
[http://www.themis.dk/searchinclude/Lovsamling/Retsplejeloven...](http://www.themis.dk/searchinclude/Lovsamling/Retsplejelovens_kapitel_70.html)
if you want to know more.

This can in theory go on for 6 months, if the alleged crime would be penalized
with less than 6 years in prison, or a 1 year if 6 or more, if the court
approves the increase every 4 weeks.

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grannyg00se
If you're going to torture somebody because they're a troublesome inmate that
needs punishing, that's one debate and I can imagine some arguments for that.

If you're going to torture somebody who hasn't even been found guilty yet,
that's a different story.

------
henpa
thepiratebay.sx seems down at the moment.

Edit: moved to thepiratebay.pe

~~~
stephenson
It has nothing to do with this. He is not arrested in Denmark because of TPB.

~~~
loup-vaillant
Anyone sufficiently paranoid must consider the possibility that it _has_
something to do with TPB, and the charges are just made up.

