On August 16 2012 13:21 Zahir wrote: Ah, my mistake. In that case, the charges sound a bit trumped up, do they not? But going through the standard judicial process is the best way to prove his innocence, Sweden is a very rational county from what I hear.
The thing is that the goverment of sweden is too weak to not fold for American pressure, which in my opinion is the greatest swedish scandal of the new millenium. My argument lies in the very cables that Wikileaks released and its relation to the Pirate Bay case.
The pirate bay case is very interesting, especially due to the cable (09-141) which was was leaked. In this cable it is stated that the american goverment pressures the so called "GoS", Government of Sweden, and threates it with different classifications of "black listing" and "watch listing" unless they put the people related to the site in jail. The cable basically says that the GoS agreed to the demand "You get the pirate bay people jailed, or we will f**k you up", and that the GoS have gotten a list of things they have to do unless they want to get punished by the american government. The integrity of the Swedish justice system be damned.
The swedish court system folded. I do not know how to comment on that. The pressure from the american embassy was stronger than the integrity of the swedish court system. I am not saying that it is obvious that nothing illegal with the pirate bay was going on, but the thing is that the case was not tried justly in court.
The reason that Peter Sunde is in jail, the exact law that he is supposed to have broken, is still not really clear.
It is not very strange that Julian Assange do not trust the Swedish Court system. Zahir, normally you would be right, but not in this case.
How Peter Sundes blog formulate it;
"Today news reached us that we didn’t get the appeal the TPB case to the supreme court.
We’re not surprised by this. The previous court cases has been filled of corruption. From having the minister of justice pressured by the US to illegally make a case of TPB, through the police officer responsible for the investigation (Jim Keyzer) “just happened” to get a job at Warner Brothers the weeks before I myself got promoted from a witness to a suspect, to the judges in the court cases being either board members, or in one case the actual chairman of the board, for the swedish pro-copyright society, it was clear to us that the supreme court – where many of the judges make a lot of money on their own copyrights – would be hard to persuade to take the case. Even though most of the public would want the case tested there. Even though it’s one of the most important cases for all of the EU."
http://blog.brokep.com/2012/02/01/maintain-hardline-kopimi/
These are quite text heavy, so if you only read one, read Peter Sundes translated letter of appeal.
The cable 09-141; + Show Spoiler + 194710 3/2/2009 13:57 09STOCKHOLM141 Embassy Stockholm UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY 08STATE45106|09STATE8410 VZCZCXRO6778OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLARUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHSM #0141/01 0611357 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 021357Z MAR 09FM AM EMBASSY STOCKHOLM TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4176 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STOCKHOLM 000141 STATE FOR EEB/TPP/IPE:TIMOTHY R MCGOWAN STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR JENNIFER CHOE GROVES SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIPR, ECON, ETRD, PGOV, SW SUBJECT: SPECIAL 301 FOR SWEDEN: POST RECOMMENDATION REF: A) STATE 8410 B) 08 STATE 45106
1. (SBU) Summary. Embassy Stockholm recommends that Sweden continues to be placed in the Special 301 Initiative, and not be on the Watch List for 2009. We are aware of the differing recommendations of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) and PhRMA. Post recommendation is based on:
-- The progress made by the Government of Sweden (GOS) in five out of the six items identified in the Special 301 Initiative Action plan we communicated to the GOS last year and
-- The sensitive domestic politics that the GOS needs to manage in order to step up internet piracy enforcement in Sweden. The GOS struggles, with good intentions, against a very negative media climate and against a vocal youth movement. For example, we want to highlight the risk that negative media attention on the file sharing issue gives the Pirate Party a boost in the EU Parliamentary elections in June 2009.
2. (SBU) This cable reviews the progress Sweden has made on the Special 301 Initiative Action plan which we presented to the GOS at the conclusion of the Special 301 review 2008 (Ref B). Post continues to engage very constructively with the GOS, and has good access and a good working relationship with key senior and working level GOS officials. The actions taken since last year's review strengthen the legislative framework and provide better enforcement tools for combating piracy. The Pirate Bay trial is currently being heard in the district court in Stockholm. The last day of the trial is March 4, and the verdict can be expected on or about March 25.
3. (SBU) Embassy Stockholm believes it would be counter- productive to watch list Sweden at this point. Likely negative political and media reaction to a watch listing must be taken into account. The Justice Ministry, with primary responsibility for this issue, is fully on board and well aware of what is at stake. It is currently battling with the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy, and Communication about the next appropriate steps to curb internet piracy. Now that the Enforcement Directive implementation will finally enter into force on April 1, and there will soon be a first District court decision in the Pirate Bay case -- the Justice Ministry will turn its attention to other key issues, primarily the ISP liability issue and extra resources to investigative capabilities. The GOS (led by the Justice Ministry) has to conduct a delicate balancing act, advancing this issue shortly before Sweden assumes the Presidency of the EU, in the early days of the Obama administration, and in the budding election campaign for the EU Parliamentary elections.
End summary. Background. ------------------------
4. (U) The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has, in its yearly Special 301 submission to USTR, identified widespread internet piracy and difficulties in achieving effective enforcement against criminal copyright infringement as problems in Sweden, and has requested that Sweden be placed on the Special 301 Watch List for 2009. Sweden was not placed on the Watch list in 2008, despite industry's demands, but was rather placed in the relatively recent, middle step, named Special 301 Initiative. As part of the Initiative, post conveyed a Special 301 Action plan to the GOS, covering six items where the USG hoped to see progress during 2008.
Review of progress on action plan ---------------------------------
5. (U) The Special 301 Initiative Action plan 2008 contained recommendations in six specific areas. The GOS has acted, in various degrees, in five of those areas. A review of progress in the six areas follows in paras 6-11:
6. (SBU) Industry consultations/ISP liability: The GOS held a series of industry consultations in the summer/fall of 2008, with the explicit aim to discuss a voluntary industry agreement involving ISPs and right-holders organizations. Industry contacts reported that the ISP's were not willing (they claim they are not able) to take on any action on a voluntary basis. The first round of consultations was concluded without results during the fall of 2008. The Justice Ministry is currently working internally in the GOS to get acceptance for a second round with a clear incentive for progress, i.e. threatening with legislation in the absence of a voluntary agreement. There is some resistance in the Center party led Ministry of Enterprise, Energy, and Communications, and negotiations are on-going at senior GOS-levels.
7. (U) Injunctive relief: The one item without any progress is STOCKHOLM 00000141 002 OF 003 Action plan item 2, Injunctive relief. The GOS maintains that there are adequate provisions currently on the books in Sweden, and does not intend to introduce new legislation. (Note that industry claims to the contrary were supported by the recommendations of the Renfors Commission, a government study commissioned to look into the file sharing issue. The GOS has declared that it will not further implement Renfors' recommendations. End note.)
8. (U) Implementation of the Enforcement Directive: The bill was approved by Parliament on February 25, and the new provisions will enter into force on April 1, 2009. The political sensitivities made the final handling of the Bill very delicate for the Alliance government. Much of the debate and negotiations have been done in public, and there has been tremendous pressure put on individual MPs. The passage of the implementing legislation is therefore a much greater victory for the GOS than it might appear. Major changes, compared to the original proposal, are:
-- the law will not be retroactive, i.e. only for copyright infringements committed after the law has entered into force can a court order that the identity behind an IP-number be handed out.
-- The court will make a proportionality assessment, i.e. weigh the need of the rights-holder to get access to the personal identity against integrity aspects of the person behind the IP number. The law now stipulates that a certain scale of infringement will be needed for the court to decide that the information should be handed out. Normally, that would be the case when the infringement consists of up- loading a single film or musical piece -- since that typically incurs significant damage to the rights-holder. The same judgment will be made for a significant scale of down-loading copyright protected material. The law establishes that if the infringement is the down-loading of only a few pieces, then normally the court's assessment should be that the integrity interest must take precedence and the information must not be handed out.
-- The law includes provisions that the GOS intends to observe and assess how the law is used, to ensure that the law is indeed used to go after significant cases of copyright infringements. This monitoring will commence immediately once the law has entered into force.
9. (U) Granting police and prosecutors the right to identities behind IP numbers of individuals potentially implicated in copyright crimes of lower dignity, i.e. fines rather than prison sentences: The Justice Ministry has also worked towards the goal of changing legislation so that police and prosecutors can get access to information about identities behind IP numbers in cases where the crime could lead to a fine (rather than a prison sentence). The usual Swedish term for this type of crime (punishable by fine, not prison) is crime of lower dignity. At present, law enforcement officials are only allowed to get such information if the infringement could lead to a prison sentence. The GOS has agreed to change the legislation, and it was made part of a study commissioned to propose the steps needed to implement such a change. The proposed changes were recently separated out from the rest of the study, and were reported in advance to Justice Minister Ask late January 2009. Although the slow legislative process is disappointing, the GOS has already agreed on the necessary changes that will strengthen the investigative tools of enforcement officials.
10. (SBU) Police and prosecutors: There are now two full-time prosecutors dedicated to IPR/copyright issues. Police officers have been trained, but we understand that they are not allowed to devote attention to IPR/copyright issues. They are back in their regular line of duty in their districts, where there are conflicting priorities. We have understood that the prosecutors have alerted that this is a problem for their work - they are stuck with a backlog of old errands and without the support of investigative officers. The prosecutors ask for investigative officers that are exclusively devoted to IPR issues, today there are no such investigative capacities. The Justice Ministry has repeatedly asked the Head of the Swedish Police for information about how he plans to come to terms with the investigation deficiencies. Although the GOS recognizes the needs, the budget bill for next year will likely not contain significant increases for law enforcement, given the harsh economic conditions. This is an area where post can work with the GOS and industry to highlight the significant impact additional resources in this area might have.
11. (SBU) Public education: In the fall of 2008, the GOS released a new information material, primarily aimed for youth, which will be broadly distributed in Swedish schools. Justice Minister Ask's staffers are currently considering the pros and cons of engaging Cabinet members in the public debate. Given all the negative attention around the Enforcement directive and the Pirate Bay trial, the determination thus far has been to keep a low profile. The GOS recognizes that there is a real risk that the window of opportunity was lost already several years ago -- when leading politicians didn't take the debate. How to engage at this point is a delicate matter.
Pirate Bay ----------
12. (U) After the raid on Pirate Bay on May 31, 2006, the issue of internet piracy was fiercely debated in Sweden. Press coverage was largely, and still is, unfavorable to the positions taken by rights-holders and the USG. The Pirate Bay raid was portrayed as the GOS caving to USG pressure. The delicate situation made it difficult, if not counter- productive, for the Embassy to play a public role on IPR issues. Behind the scenes, the Embassy has worked well with all stakeholders. After 18 months of investigation, the prosecutor filed indictments against four individuals for contribution to copyright infringement because of their activities administrating the Pirate Bay bit torrent webpage. The case is currently being heard in the district court in Stockholm, and the trial is scheduled to be completed on March 4. The sentence is expected on or about March 25, i.e. before the conclusion of the Special 301 review process. However, we fully expect that any outcome will be appealed to a higher court, which means that the final verdict will not be known for several years.
PhRMA's drug pricing issue --------------------------
13. (U) PhRMA has also requested that Sweden be put on the Special 301 Watch List. The request is based on the GOS decision to de-regulate the pharmacy market in Sweden and the alleged plans to reduce prices of patented pharmaceuticals on the Swedish market with the aim to finance the redesign. The price cut is believed to be as high as 10 percent.
14. (U) According to the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the GOS does not plan to impose a general price cut on patented pharmaceuticals, but rather has the intention of maintaining a model for a value based pricing system. TLV, the Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency, a central government agency, has been assigned to suggest principles for pharmacy mark-up and to suggest how the profitability in the pharmacy market will be assessed and followed up. TLV will present its proposals to the GOS on April 1 this year.
15. (U) As of March 2 there is no decision, nor anything in writing, that confirms that the GOS is actually proposing a 10 percent general price cut on patented pharmaceuticals. Therefore the Embassy does not recommend that Sweden be put on the 2009 Special 301 Watch List as concerns the de-regulation of the Swedish pharmacies. However, should the GOS as a result of the April 1 TLV report reach a decision to impose a general 10 percent price cut on patented pharmaceuticals, the Embassy will engage in high-level advocacy with the GOS on the issue again.
Google Translate of Peter Sundes letter. I might make a second run for translation errors later on. Any swedes are welcome to update this text to more correct English if they can. + Show Spoiler + Today I submitted my request for clemency. Here is a copy (it will still come out later through the media, I suspect). It is a failure of the justice system. But that's the way it is. I do not think my chance to get mercy are very high, I simply want a signed letter from the State that they ignore their mistakes.
-
I would like to tell a story from my life. A story that has acquired great importance, not only for me but for the global Internet that is emerging. I've seen have a role in the middle of the storm. In order for you to consider the clemency application submitted, I feel that this letter is needed. An insight into what went wrong and why you need to fix this. Indirectly, I ask not for mercy for myself. I pray for mercy from a justice system that has been run over by lobbying and ignorance. But ultimately, I ask for mercy for our future culture and communication. My goal is of vital importance to them.
This is a long story, so let's start at the right end as soon as possible.
For a little over 6 years ago, a strange thing happened in Swedish history. The police conducted a raid at 12 locations in Sweden. 65 policemen stormed into these places, looking for something, something that could be used as evidence against a search engine on the internet.
Nothing like this has not happened before in Sweden and it is unlikely to happen again. The days that followed it was written thousands of articles about all over the world. Thousands of people, mostly young adults, took to the streets across the country and demonstrated. They were demonstrating against their culture had been encroached upon.
I was on one of these demonstrations. Politically aware and active as a spokesperson for the search engine in question. A search engine that helped people worldwide to connect with each other to exchange information. A search engine so popular that it almost every day, e-mail from someone who told me that it changed their lives. Pictures of tattoos with the logo proudly intatuerad on someone's body. Tributes to how a Swedish web service changed people's lives. Protests boiled down to just that, people felt run over the world. I remember how I stood on the coin Square early one morning in early June 2006 and looked at the representatives of all parliamentary parties, who shouted out their anger over what had just arrived: the U.S. had threatened little Sweden with trade sanctions unless the Web service was shut down.
SVT program report had told the painful story. Powerful Hollywood demanded that the White House would force Sweden to do something about the cultural exchange that took place outside their control. The then justitieminster Thomas Bodström was summoned to the meeting in the White House and knew what it would mean to disobey. Sanctions against trade between the U.S. and Sweden within the framework of the World Trade Organization. Sweden could become a new Cuba.
A few months before had a Swedish prosecutor concluded that the service could not be tried in Sweden, as it did not prove any illegal acts. He sent a memo explaining the situation to their superiors. After a meeting between Sven-Erik Alhem, the then Attorney General, and representatives from the Justice Department, so ombestämmer himself. A rapid response was required, with full force. So full strength that once you make the raid so do not know the cops what to do. The seizing hundreds of computers, in several cities, but also speakers, wires and such. They do not know how big things they should seize is and decides that, during a raid, renting trucks from local petrol stations to shipping all been seized. In short, it is crazy and ill. So ill that they even missed several locations where the company is struck with the actual business.
Thomas Bodström promised to put the cards on the table. Yet, over 700 letters between him and the United States in this matter confidential. These, we still have not seen. In the aftermath of the political scandal that was detected was the Swedish record in KU, JO and JK notifications. The newly established Swedish Party, Pirate Party, became in just a few days one of the major Swedish parties. A few weeks later, the election and no young people would no longer vote for the incumbent Social Democrats because they knew that they had sold out their interests to wealthy lobbyists in the U.S.. Partial Social Democrats lost power because of this scandal.
After the hit, so did The Pirate Bay up on the internet again, after only two days. It's an easy service to copy, but for advanced functionality. It was one of the features of the technology behind the service, it was enough smart and easy to maintain. So easy that it barely had put a hand to the service on just one over a year before the raid took place.
The attention surrounding The Pirate Bay just grew after that. Before it was certainly a great service, but all of a sudden the service of the 100 largest in the world. The phone rang constantly from global media.
My involvement in The Pirate Bay had only been a single: spokesperson. Suddenly pasted pictures of my face on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. Every day, I was invited to television and radio programs to disktuera policies about file sharing. Debates raged all day and I barely had time to do my job because I thought this was such an important issue. I became more and more active in the issue after the raid and was indirectly a representative of those that believe that file sharing is positive.
The raid was strong and hard. It would have been in 12 locations in Sweden. Of course, I lived in Oslo in Norway during this period, but I understood that I was very peripher in this context. My friends from The Pirate Bay had been served, a suspicion, but more was not done in a very long time. After about 2.5 years so I got a letter. I had moved to Sweden and was now called as a witness in the case, a couple of weeks.
Approximately 30 people were called, few were familiar, others I had never heard of. Time passed and I would appear before the police station to testify. The day before calling the interrogator (and also the responsible for the entire police investigation), Jim Keyzer, and tells me I will be notified suspicion of crime when I get there. He explains to me that I therefore have a right to a lawyer present. Not only that, but he also gives me the hint that I should take "about the first best argument, since it is urgent that we get this done.". He also added that I should "skip selecting a hotshot lawyer from Stockholm" so that his case is not delayed even more. Suddenly it is huge hurry to finish the preliminary investigation.
However, I am a fairly intelligent person. Of course, I see that something is strange when a police officer asks me to choose a bad lawyer. Therefore, I called directly to the first known good lawyer I knew, Peter Althin. Althin took the case directly and phoned the police. The police were upset and angry because he had already planned their trip to town, where I was interrogated, and thought it was outrageous that he now had to schedule an extra trip to town.
A few weeks later, Jim Keyzer, and questioned me. My lawyer was on the spot and both I and he felt that something was odd. My lawyer told me that he, despite his long career with many high profile cases, had never experienced such an unpleasant and stressful interrogators. He thought it was really strange. Of course I thought it was like a scene from a bad movie, when Keyzer screamed at me that I was naive as decided to answer no comment (as I did not want to say anything that could possibly affect my friends). A couple of places in transkribtionen of the recorded interview is the only "inaudible". There are times when Keyzer is so angry that he was screaming so loud that the microphone can not pick up the sound.
The fact that I put so much focus on Keyzer may seem strange. But I have a point of it all. That is how this case was handled. Sweden has a reputation for being a country of high moral character, free from corruption and with a common sense guide for justice. In my case it has breached these rules. And Jim Keyzer is one of many examples of what has happened.
A week after the investigation was submitted as noticed one of my friends that Jim Keyzer had switched "network" on Facebook. No longer was he a part of "police authority in Stockholm", but instead he was now a member of the Network "Warner Brothers". Warner Brothers is one of the companies behind police reports against The Pirate Bay. I was very upset and called Jim Keyzer to ask what was going on. I learned that he had changed jobs and now working for Warner and NBC Universal, another company that also was behind the police reports (not to mention the pressure). Both Warner that Universal is also involved in the Anti-Piracy Bureau, an organization that was my counterpart at the trial. His new role was anti-piracy manager for these organizations. He had started on the job the day before the investigation was officially filed.
Jim Keyzers first assignment with his new employer was to find a medåtalad, Gottfrid Svartholm. Godfrey is a nomadic young man who often live at home with friends. Since Keyzer with police agents had been able to get information about where Godfrey was, so he went there together with notification of the case as he had studied for almost 3 years. Godfrey became suddenly påsprungen by Keyzer, not pointed out that he changed employer.
When I examined in detail when Keyzer was promised his job, I used my fairly extensive network of contacts. It turned out that his new employer had had out an ad about the service, and a couple of meetings about the ongoing investigation that Keyzer had been informed that they were seeking a new person, where he could fit into. After more investigation, I got hold of a person who applied for the same job. He could tell the exact date for me when he learned that the position had been assigned to another: 8 days before I was upgraded from "witness" to "defendant" in the case. And 7 days before Keyzer started to ring and tell how urgent it was that all witnesses would be heard. The only time I saw a police throughout the investigation period was with the police with a well-paid job with what was to be my counterpart. A police officer who went from almost no speed at all sure that it was time to close the case on 1 day. In a hearing that my lawyer saw as the one of the most remarkable in his long career.
At the time of the interview, I was also just the most hated person in Hollywood's power corridors. I was the person who is acting as spokesperson for their nemesis, was most important to silence. Young people listening to me when I told her all over the world about the great opportunity we have to a free and open, participative culture, as long as we do not have to be locked into these companies. I talked to all the teachers and students to presidents of some of the world's largest country on these opportunities and what threats - largely party in my court case - there were.
When the case came in a Swedish district court came to a normal department, as it should be by chance. Head of Section 5 (Department of Intellectual Property Rights), however, felt that this case was not a criminal, but rather an intellectual property case. Therefore, the case was moved there, but then at the request of the department who wanted the case. It would later turn out that when random until a judge there was only one vacant, the Head of Department, Thomas Norström, who thus had asked to have the case assigned to their department. Briefly, therefore, chose a Swedish judge out that he himself would consider a specific case, by abusing the rules that are to use.
Thomas Norström is very interested in copyright cases. So interested that he also happened to be a member of the Swedish Association for Copyright and sat on the board of the Swedish Association for Industrial Property Protection. Two compounds that clearly take a stand on copyright issues. The compounds are daughter compounds to ALAI and AIPPI, two international associations that have in their statutes that the goal is to strengthen copyright owners' interests. The chairman of the international associations pronounce themselves often against all forms of copyright infringement and that works for stronger penalties for infringement.
Thomas Norström self-assessed as not biased. Additionally undlät he to say about their involvement because he thought they were important. There were, however, ample opportunity for him to think through their INCOMPETENCE before the trial because I personally examined the jurymen and found that two of them were disqualified. When my lawyer said they went Norström issued a press release that he (without mentioning that we had pointed it out) had found a disqualified juror. A composer who has been active in the record companies that sued us. There was also another person who had their wages from these industries, which Norström is not deemed to be disqualified.
District negotiations were very strange. There was commotion everywhere, film crew from the BBC, Al-Jazeera, SVT, NRK, and more. For several days, it was like the whole world watched as Sweden would prosecute any of abetting a crime that had no owner. They shook their heads everywhere. In major newspapers, there were votes on it thought it was would be a conviction - 99.8% of over 50,000 answered "no" (and it was 0.2% margin of error according to the newspaper's statistician, so possibly 100%).
During the trial I saw sleeping jurors. I had to sit and look at the screenshots, which for me as a technical expert demonstrated that the files were not downloaded via The Pirate Bay. As we pointed out that the screenshots showed that The Pirate Bay has not been available when they tried to download something, they changed the prosecutor rather than the prosecution point to another criminal offense that most closely similar to "aiding aiding possible crime." None of the conjectured the original crimes could even be traced to Swedish jurisdiction - or for that matter Norway, where I was during the prosecution period. Nevertheless, condemned us.
We were sentenced to a collective judgment. All were sentenced to one year in prison and 30 million in damages, a record damages in Sweden. Although it appeared that it was a biased court which tried the case, it was determined that Norström has done nothing technically wrong. Instead, we appeal to the Court of Appeal.
From the district court's ruling, I could not really see why I was doomed. There were no specific allegations against me. There were no periods of time that I had been involved. There was no crime proved even, I was still convicted of complicity in an offense that had not been proven. Due to lack of evidence could turn things around - I could be things that could have been useful for the Pirate Bay, therefore, these things happened and I had performed them. Although all the people who were questioned said that all that is programmed or developed at The Pirate Bay had been done before bringing the beginning even, and that the knowledge I had that could have been useful, yet was overshadowed by the two founders of The Pirate Bay. Knowledge that still was not needed when everything was untouched.
In Hovrätten (a higher court level) it was a similar story. It was now not one but two judges who had a background in the same compound of copyright. It was lay such as worked on Spotify, a competitor to The Pirate Bay, which also largely owned by the record label that was our adversary. After an excruciating long playback of the recorded interrogations from the district court (which also lay judges in the Court of Appeal fell asleep for a couple of times) so there were still a conviction. I was personally convicted to eight months in prison and 46 million in damages. This sum is now nearly 100 miljonor crowns with interest.
When I read the Court of Appeal's judgment of what I personally should have done, I can not feel nothing but apathy and helplessness. I should have done three things that have given me responsibility. These, I would go through with you.
Among other things, I have installed a computer that acted as a so-called load balancer - a computer that allows one to distribute the work among several computers on major web services. It is clearly stated in the Court of Appeal judgment that I am responsible for the configuration of this computer. One such computer was admittedly one of the cupboards as The Pirate Bay were housed in. On the other hand was not connected with even one cable in any way. Some computers, police have investigated at the National Laboratory of Forensic Science (SKL). Some computers have carefully gone through. The prosecutor has in some cases telephoned the owner of the computer and asked if they want to police Gottfrid Svartholm for hacking because they found that he had access to computers. Computers, he managed for its clients. The computer that I must have been responsible for have not even even one line of text for any purpose other than to seizure protocol. I can not see the configuration I'm guilty of. The configuration that I as a Swedish court beyond reasonable doubt must be created. The configuration I with 100% certainty can be said had proved that this computer has not been used for The Pirate Bay. It belonged to a company that had hired it out. The owner himself has inserted it into the computer cabinet just weeks before the raid.
In the Court of Appeal negotiations as testified prosecutor Håkan Rosvall it was like I said, that this machine was not used The Pirate Bay. Why la my lawyer no energy to said that in his closing argument. Yet chose Rosvall that after mentioning that I had been responsible for it. And in the end I was sentenced for this computer. Nowhere is there even one tiny bit of evidence that even suggests that this computer has been tested, to something. I like to say that I feel like a person from Finland that is convicted of a gun murder because there was a knife around and "we Finns are known to use a knife." Since I 'confessed' that I know what a load balancer is and I will be sentenced for that there was one, despite not being in use. And even though my co-defendants are among the best in the world to build such solutions and work with it daily. And although it would be very easy for Jim Keyzer taking up the configuration, especially when I am being accused of it.
Second point that I was convicted of was that I should have built a system of genres on The Pirate Bay. I must have improved the functionality of the service, in some way have been sent genres. What this now would mean. The judgment says that I was responsible for "grouping". When something is uploaded to The Pirate Bay chooses uploader yourself which category he wants to put the material in. Then there is there. Category system has been around since before the indictment period - I would venture to say that it is the same system which had existed since The Pirate Bay started. Genres are also quite different categories, there are subcategories. A category is for example Movie, Music or Games. A genre for example Action, Sports or the hip-hop. It's a pretty big difference in ordemeningen. But briefly, it has not changed a few categories on The Pirate Bay since 2004. Even today it has changed somewhat around the categories on The Pirate Bay. And the genre has never even existed, yet I am doomed to have provided them. The reason is that I am in an email mentions "genres on the bay" and that a third person in an email wondering about who takes care of search and "I think Peter" answered. While I am in building a new service, The Video Bay, a service for streaming video that would be if it were not for the big raid. Nevertheless, like a Swedish court that I am beyond the reasonable doubt is proven guilty of categorizing content on The Pirate Bay. Nor is there here any kind of forensic evidence. Although it would be easy to produce. Although this was a task that fell to Jim Keyzer.
Point three is the one I said I did. But I do not think I committed any crime. I am doomed to have on one occasion in April 2006 (almost a year after the charge initially) have sent an invoice for advertising in The Pirate Bay. The story behind were so simple as to those who paid for the advertisements had trouble with the advertising company who ran The Pirate Bay's advertising, and demanded that a Swedish company would charge instead. Since I was liked by all parties so bad CEO in the Swedish (listed) companies to send me the invoice from my Swedish companies. I did, and then I paid an invoice from the company that they refused to pay for. It was private grumbling behind it all and it was a way to try to reach a conclusion to this fight. I did not earn a dime of it all and had no money in my account even a day. This is something that an ordinary collection agency could be of assistance with otherwise, without being accused or convicted of it. Jim Keyzer has probably been heard by those people who sold advertising which still took half the money that was earned at The Pirate Bay, and not come up with the idea to accuse them of having made money or funding this service. The prosecutor has had exactly the same setting. But basically, I'm quite sure that there is nothing illegal in what I have done.
The enthusiasm with which they have had to ensure that The Pirate Bay to be tried, so I have dratts with. Proof or not. It is obvious if one looks at the court decision that had the attitude that I will be tried and then tried to find any evidence to judge me. That the police officer who worked for my counterpart in the case, who is also political opponents, has been able to investigate all the computers in detail except those that apply to me does of course I can not really look at this as I even had a fair chance. The existence of biased judges who get to choose which he will judge is a farce. These people in the Swedish legal system has had to exercise the power that the public has given them confidence, and they've done it in such a way that I hope they are ashamed of the rest of their lives. They are downright corrupt and criminal people.
Instead, I would conclude my long letter with my thoughts of it all. I know I've reached a point where I have less than a promilles chance to escape a penalty. Not having to get locked up for crimes I did not do. Offences not even committed. Crimes that certainly is not even a crime to begin with, if they had committed, and that if they had committed was not made by me. It's a bizarre situation, how far away I am from having any criminal liability. Yet I have to sit a few months locked up, on a Class 2 office because it is considered to be a risk that I will repeat these crimes, crimes not committed, for nearly 7 years ago. Offenses, if they are committed, require high speed internet access, physical machines, computer rooms and the like. Crimes that do not have to be committed, because you are not using these technologies further. And when I came out of prison, where I will certainly be even more bitter about the situation, I have a financial debt, so far, 100 million. Money that is pure fantasy sums, which would "compensate" for the aiding abetting crime possible as I must have committed by having done things that has not happened. A financial liability to some of the world's richest companies. A debt which basically means I do not have a future in Sweden as a country if I want to live on nothing but bread crumbs or friends' good will. This debt is like to be deported. I will have to be an economic refugee from Sweden.
This bizarre situation is something that authorities in Sweden closes its eyes to. It is an affront to everything the justice system to bear. It is a disgrace to the entire population. A population that does not even share the views of the laws referred to in case I'm doomed in. And these are the things I want us all to get away from grace. Not only I, but Swedish population. Confidence that went missing with all INCOMPETENCE, all the obvious corruption, ministerial government that was never investigated, all the dirty tactics used to satisfy of a powerful trading partner. Sweden's judicial system has sold out to individuals. So it should not be in a democracy.
Give swedish folk mercy from this corruption.
A wikipedia link regarding some bias allegations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pirate_Bay_trial#Bias_allegations
Peter Sundes plea for mercy in Swedish + Show Spoiler + Idag har jag skickat in min nådeansökan. Här är en kopia (den kommer ändå komma ut senare via media misstänker jag). Det finns stänk av rättshaveri i det. Men det är så det är. Jag tror inte på min chans att få nåd, jag vill mest få ett undertecknat brev från staten om att de ignorerar sina misstag.
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Jag skulle vilja berätta en historia ur mitt liv. En historia som har fått stor betydelse, inte bara för mig, utan för det globala internet som växer fram. Jag har råkat få en roll mitt i stormens öga. För att ni skall kunna ta ställning till den nådeansökan som skickats in så känner jag att detta brev behövs. En insikt i vad som gått fel och varför ni behöver rätta till detta. Indirekt ber jag nämligen inte om nåd för mig själv. Jag ber om nåd från ett rättsväsende som blivit överkört av lobbyism och okunskap. Men ultimat så ber jag om nåd för vår framtida kultur och kommunikation. Mitt mål har nämligen stor betydelse för dessa.
Detta är en lång historia, så låt oss börja i rätt ände så fort som möjligt.
För lite över 6 år sedan så hände något märkligt i svensk historia. Polisen utfördes en razzia på 12 platser i Sverige. 65 poliser stormade in på dessa platser och letade efter något, något som kunde användas som bevismaterial mot en sökmotor på internet.
Något liknande har inte skett tidigare i Sverige och det kommer knappast att ske igen. Dagarna som följde skrevs det tiotusentals artiklar om över hela världen. Tusentals personer, mestadels unga vuxna, gick ut på gator över hela landet och demonstrerade. De demonstrerade mot att deras kulturliv hade blivit inkräktat på.
Jag var på en av dessa demonstrationer. Politiskt intresserad och aktiv som talesperson för sökmotorn i fråga. En sökmotor som hjälpte människor över hela världen att få kontakt med varandra för att utbyta information. En sökmotor så uppskattad att det nästan varje dag kom e-post från någon person som berättade att den ändrat deras liv. Bilder på tatueringar med logotypen stolt intatuerad på någons kropp. Hyllningar till hur en svensk webbtjänst förändrat människors liv. Demonstrationerna kokade ner till just detta, människor kände sig överkörda världen över. Jag minns hur jag stog på mynttorget en tidig morgon, i början av juni 2006 och tittade på representanter från samtliga riksdagspartier som skrek ut sin ilska över det som nyss kommit fram: USA hade hotat lilla Sverige med handelssanktioner om inte webbtjänsten blev nerstängd.
SVT-programmet Rapport hade berättat den pinsamma historien. Mäktiga Hollywood krävde att Vita Huset skulle tvinga sverige att göra något åt kulturutbytet som skedde utanför deras kontroll. Dåvarande justitieminster Thomas Bodström blev inkallad på möte i vita huset och fick veta vad det skulle innebära att inte lyda. Sanktioner mot handel mellan USA och Sverige inom ramen för World Trade Organisation. Sverige kunde komma att bli ett nytt Kuba.
Några månader innan hade en svensk åklagare kommit fram till att tjänsten inte kunde dömas i Sverige då det inte gick bevisa några olagligheter. Han skickade ett PM som förklarade detta till sina överordnade. Efter ett möte mellan Sven-Erik Alhem, dåvarande överåklagare, och representanter från justitiedepartementet, så ombestämmer han sig. En snabb insats krävdes, med full styrka. Så full styrka att när man väl gör razzian så vet inte poliserna vad som gäller. De beslagtar hundratals datorer, i flera städer, men även högtalare, sladdar och dylikt. De vet inte hur stora sakerna de skall beslagta är och bestämmer sig för att, under pågående razzia, hyra in lastbilar från lokala bensinstationer för att kunna frakt allt man beslagtagit. Kort sagt, det är stressigt och ogenomtänkt. Så ogenomtänkt att man till och med missade flera platser där företaget man slår till mot faktiskt har verksamhet.
Thomas Bodström lovade att lägga korten på bordet. Ändå blev över 700 brev mellan honom och USA i detta ärende hemligstämplade. Dessa har vi fortfarande inte fått se. I efterdyningarna av den politiska skandal som påvisades sattes det svenska rekord i KU-, JO- samt JK-anmälningar. Det nystartade svenska partiet, Piratpartiet, blev på bara några få dagar ett av de största svenska partierna. Några veckor senare var det val och inga unga människor ville längre rösta på de sittande socialdemokraterna eftersom de visste att de sålt ut deras intressen till rika lobbyorganisationer i USA. Delvis förlorade socialdemokraterna makten på grund av denna skandal.
Efter tillslaget så kom The Pirate Bay upp på internet igen, efter endast två dagar. Det är en lätt tjänst att kopiera, utan avancerad funktionalitet. Det var en av finesserna med tekniken bakom tjänsten, att den var såpass smart och lättskött. Så lättskött att det knappt hade lagts en hand på tjänsten på i stort ett över ett år innan tillslaget skedde.
Uppmärksamheten kring The Pirate Bay bara växte efter detta. Innan var det visserligen en stor tjänst, men helt plötsligt blev tjänsten en av de 100 största i hela världen. Det ringde konstant från global media.
Min involvering i The Pirate Bay hade bara varit en enda: presstalesperson. Plötsligt klistrades bilder på mitt ansikte på framsidor i tidningar över hela världen. Dagligen blev jag inbjuden till tv- och radioprogram för att disktuera politiken kring fildelning. Debatter rasade dagarna i ända och jag hade knappt tid att sköta mitt jobb eftersom jag tyckte detta var en så viktig fråga. Jag blev mer och mer aktiv i frågan efter tillslaget och blev indirekt en representant för de som menar att fildelning är positivt.
Tillslaget skedde starkt och hårt. Det var som sagt på 12 platser i Sverige. Själv bodde jag i Oslo i Norge under den här perioden, men jag uppfattade att jag var mycket perifär i sammanhanget. Mina bekanta från The Pirate Bay hade blivit delgivna en misstanke, men mer skedde inte på mycket lång tid. Efter ungefär 2.5 år så fick jag ett brev. Jag hade flyttat till Sverige och var nu kallad som vittne i saken, några veckor fram.
Ungefär 30 personer var kallade, några var bekanta, andra hade jag aldrig hört talas om. Tiden gick och jag skulle infinna mig på polisstationen för att vittna. Dagen innan ringer förhörsledaren (och tillika den ansvariga polisen för hela förundersökningen), Jim Keyzer, och berättar att jag kommer delges misstanke om brott när jag kommer dit. Han förklarar för mig att jag därför har rätt till advokat närvarande. Inte bara det, utan han ger mig också tipset att jag ska ta “ungefär första bästa advokat, då det är bråttom att vi får det här gjort.”. Han tillägger också att jag bör “skippa att välja en hotshot-advokat från stockholm” så att hans ärende inte fördröjs ännu mer. Helt plötsligt är det jättebråttom att avsluta förundersökningen.
Jag är ändå en hyfsat intelligent person. Självklart ser jag att något är konstigt när en polis ber mig välja en dålig advokat. Därför ringde jag direkt till den första kända bra advokat jag kände till, Peter Althin. Althin tog fallet direkt och ringde till polisen. Polisen var upprörd och förbannad eftersom han redan hade planerat sin resa till Malmö, där jag skulle förhöras, och tyckte att det var upprörande att han nu var tvungen att planera in en extra resa till staden.
Några veckor senare kom Jim Keyzer och förhörde mig. Min advokat fanns med på plats och både jag och han kände att något var märkligt. Min advokat berättade för mig att han, trots sin långa karriär med många högprofilfall, aldrig hade upplevt en så otrevlig och stressad förhörsledare. Han tyckte det var jättemärkligt. Själv tyckte jag det var som en scen ur en dålig film, när Keyzer skrek på mig att jag var barnslig som bestämt mig för att svara ingen kommentar (då jag inte ville säga något som eventuellt kunde påverka mina vänner). Ett par ställen i transkribtionen av det inspelade förhöret står det endast “ohörbart”. Det är gångerna när Keyzer är så arg att han skriker så högt att mikrofonen inte kan ta upp ljudet.
Att jag lägger så mycket fokus på Keyzer kan tyckas märkligt. Men jag har en poäng med det hela. Det är hur detta fallet har skötts. Sverige har ett rykte om att vara ett land med hög moral, utan korruption och med ett sunt förnuft som guide för rättvisan. I mitt fall har man åsidosatt dessa regler. Och Jim Keyzer är ett av många exempel på vad som hänt.
En vecka efter att förundersökningen var inlämnade så märkte en av mina bekanta att Jim Keyzer hade bytt “nätverk” på facebook. Inte längre var han en del av “polismyndigheten i stockholm” utan istället var han nu medlem i nätverket “Warner Brothers”. Warner Brothers är ett av de företag som står bakom polisanmälningarna mot The Pirate Bay. Jag blev mycket upprörd och ringde till Jim Keyzer för att fråga vad som pågick. Jag fick veta att han hade bytt jobb och numera jobbade för Warner samt NBC Universal, ett annat bolag som också låg bakom polisanmälningarna (för att inte tala om påtryckningarna). Såväl Warner som Universal är dessutom delaktiga i Antipiratbyrån, som är en organisation som var min motpart under rättegången. Hans nya roll var antipirat-chef för dessa organisationer. Han hade börjat på jobbet dagen innan förundersökningen var officiellt inlämnad.
Jim Keyzers första uppdrag hos sin nya arbetsgivare var att hitta en medåtalad, Gottfrid Svartholm. Gottfrid är en nomadisk ung man som ofta bor hemma hos vänner. Eftersom Keyzer med polisiära medel hade kunnat få tag på information om var Gottfrid befann sig, så begav han sig dit ihop med delgivningen i fallet som han själv hade utrett i närmare 3 år. Gottfrid blev helt plötsligt påsprungen av Keyzer, som inte påpekade att han bytt arbetsgivare.
När jag undersökte närmare när Keyzer blev lovad sin anställning så använde jag mitt ganska breda kontaktnät. Det visade sig att hans nya arbetsgivare hade haft ute en annons om tjänsten, och på ett par möten om den pågående utredningen så hade Keyzer blivit informerad om att de sökte en ny person, där han kunde passa in. Efter fler undersökningar fick jag tag på en person som sökt samma jobb. Han kunde berätta exakt datum för mig när han fick veta att positionen hade blivit tilldelad en annan: 8 dagar innan jag blev uppgraderad från “vittne” till “åtalad” i fallet. Och 7 dagar innan Keyzer började ringa och berätta om hur bråttom det var att alla vittnen skulle höras. Den enda gången jag träffade en polis under hela förundersökningsperioden var alltså med den polis som fått ett välbetalt jobb hos det som skulle bli min motpart. En polis som gick från nästan ingen hastighet alls till att det var dags att avsluta fallet på 1 dag. I ett förhör som min advokat uppfattade som det ett av de märkligaste i hans långa karriär.
Vid tillfället av förhöret var jag dessutom just den mest hatade personen i Hollywoods maktkorridorer. Jag var den person, som i egenskap av presstalesperson för deras nemesis, var viktigast att få tyst på. Unga människor lyssnade på mig när jag berättade över hela världen om den fantastiska möjligheten vi har till en fri och öppen, deltagande kultur, så länge vi inte behöver vara fastlåsta till dessa bolag. Jag pratade med allt från lärare och elever till presidenter av några av världens största land om dessa möjligheter och om vilka hot – till stor del motparten i mitt rättsfall – som fanns.
När fallet kom in till svensk tingsrätt så kom den till en normal avdelning, så som det bör ske via slump. Chefen för avdelning 5 (avdelningen för immaterialrätt) tyckte däremot att detta fall inte var ett brottsfall utan snarare ett immaterialrättsfall. Därför flyttades fallet dit, men alltså på begäran av den avdelning som ville ha fallet. Det skulle senare visa sig att när man slumpade fram en domare fanns det bara en ledig; chefen för avdelningen, Thomas Norström, som ju alltså hade begärt att få fallet tilldelat sin avdelning. Kortfattat valde alltså en svensk domare ut att han själv skulle få pröva ett specifikt fall, genom att missbruka de regler som finns att använda.
Thomas Norström är mycket intresserad av upphovsrättsfall. Så intresserad att han dessutom råkade vara medlem i den Svenska Föreningen för Upphovsrätt och satt med i styrelsen för den Svenska föreningen för industriellt rättskydd. Två föreningar som tydlig tar ställning i upphovsrättsfrågor. Föreningarna är dotterföreningar till ALAI och AIPPI, två internationella föreningar som har i sina stadgar att målet är att stärka upphovsrättsinnehavares intressen. Ordföranden för dessa internationella föreningar uttalar sig ofta mot all form av upphovsrättsintrång och att man jobbar för hårdare straff för intrång.
Thomas Norström själv bedömde sig inte som jävig. Dessutom undlät han att berätta om sina engagemang eftersom han inte tyckte de var av vikt. Det fanns däremot gott om möjlighet för honom att tänka igenom sin jävighet innan rättegången eftersom jag personligen undersökte nämndemännen och fann att två av dem var jäviga. När min advokat påpekade detta så gick Norström ut med ett pressmeddelande att han (utan att nämna att vi hade påpekat det) hade hittat en jävig nämndeman. En tonsättare som varit aktiv i skivbolagen som stämde oss. Det fanns även en annan person som hade sin lön från dessa industrier, som Norström inte bedömde som jävig.
Tingsrättsförhandlingarna var mycket märkliga. Det var uppståndelse precis överallt, filmteam från BBC, Al-Jazeera, SVT, NRK, mm. I flera dagar var det som att hela världen tittade på när Sverige skulle åtala några för medhjälp till ett brott som inte hade någon huvudman. Man skakade på huvudet överallt. På de stora dagstidningarna fanns det omröstningar om man tyckte det var skulle bli fällande dom – 99.8% av över 50.000 svarade “nej” (och det var 0.2% felmarginal enligt tidningens statistiker, så eventuellt 100%).
Under rättegången fick jag se sovande nämndemän. Jag fick sitta och titta på skärmdumpar, som för mig som teknisk kunnig bevisade att filer inte laddats ner via The Pirate Bay. När vi påpekade att skärmdumparna visade på att The Pirate Bay inte varit tillgänglig när de försökt ladda ner något så ändrade åklagaren istället sin åtalspunkt till en annan brottsrubricering som närmast liknande “medhjälp till medhjälp till möjligt brott”. Ingen av de gissade huvudbrotten kunde ens härledas till svensk jurisdiktion – eller för den delen norsk, där jag befann mig under åtalsperioden. Ändå dömdes vi.
Vi dömdes till en kollektiv dom. Alla blev dömda till 1 års fängelse och 30 miljoner kronor i skadestånd, ett rekordskadestånd i sverige. Trots att det framkom att det var en jävig domstol som prövat fallet så fastställdes det att Norström inte gjort något tekniskt fel. Istället fick vi överklaga till hovrätten.
Från tingsrättens dom kunde jag inte riktigt se varför jag blev dömd. Det fanns inga specifika anklagelser mot mig. Det fanns inga tidsperioder som jag hade varit involverad. Det fanns inget brott bevisat ens, jag blev ändå dömd för medhjälp till brott som man inte hade bevisat. Tack vare bristande bevismaterial kunde man vända på steken – jag kunde saker som kunde ha varit nyttiga för The Pirate Bay, därför hade dessa saker skett och jag hade utfört dem. Trots att samtliga personer som blev förhörda påpekade att allt som programmerats eller utvecklats på The Pirate Bay hade skett innan åtalsperiodens början ens, och att de kunskaper jag hade som kunde varit till nytta, ändå var i skuggan av de två grundarna av The Pirate Bay. Kunskaper som ändå inte behövdes då allt var orört.
I hovrätten var det en liknande historia. Det var nu inte en utan två domare som hade en bakgrund i samma förening för upphovsrätt. Det var nämndemän som t.ex. jobbade på Spotify, en konkurrent till The Pirate Bay, som dessutom till stor del ägs av de skivbolag som var vår motpart. Efter en plågsam lång uppspelning av de inspelade förhören från tingsrätten (där även nämndemännen i hovrätten somnade till ett par gånger) så kom det ändå en fällande dom. Jag blev personligen dömd till 8 månaders fängelse samt 46 miljoner i skadestånd. Denna summan är idag närmare 100 miljonor kronor med ränta.
När jag läser hovrättens bedömning av vad jag personligen skall ha utfört så kan jag inte känna något annat än apati och hjälplöshet. Jag skall ha gjort tre saker som har gett mig ansvar. Dessa vill jag gå igenom med er.
Bland annat skall jag ha installerat en dator som fungerat som en såkallad lastbalanserare – en dator som gör att man kan fördela ut arbete mellan flera olika datorer på stora webbtjänster. Det står klart och tydligt i hovrättsdomen att jag är ansvarig för konfigurationen av denna dator. En sådan dator fanns visserligen i ett av skåpen som The Pirate Bay huserades i. Däremot var den inte inkopplad med en endaste kabel på något vis. Vissa datorer har polisen utrett hos Statens kriminaltekniska laboratorium (SKL). Vissa datorer har man noggrannt gått igenom. Åklagaren har i vissa fall ringt till ägaren av datorer och frågat om de vill polisanmäla Gottfrid Svartholm för dataintrång eftersom de hittat att han haft tillgång till datorer. Datorer han skött åt sina kunder. Datorn som jag skall ha varit ansvarig för har man inte ens en endaste rad text om i något annat än i beslagsprotokoll. Jag kan inte se den konfiguration jag är dömd för. Den konfiguration som jag enligt svensk domstol bortom rimligt tvivel skall ha skapat. Den konfigurationen som jag med 100% säkerhet kan säga hade bevisat att denna dator inte har använts till The Pirate Bay. Den tillhörde nämligen ett företag som hade hyrt ut den. Ägaren har själv satt in den i dataskåpet bara några veckor innan tillslaget.
Under hovrättsförhandlingarna så vitsordade åklagare Håkan Rosvall att det var som jag sa, att denna maskinen inte var använd till The Pirate Bay. Därför la min advokat ingen energi på att nämnda det i sin slutplädering. Ändå valde Rosvall att efter det nämna att jag hade varit ansvarig för den. Och till slut blev jag dömd för denna dator. Ingenstans finns det en endaste liten gnutta bevis som ens visar på att denna dator varit använd, till något. Jag brukar säga att jag känner mig som en finne som är dömd för ett pistolmord därför att det fanns en kniv i närheten och “vi finnar är kända för att använda kniv”. Eftersom jag “erkänt” att jag vet vad en lastbalanserare är så skall jag dömas för att det funnits en sådan, trots att den inte varit i bruk. Och trots att mina medåtalade är bland de främsta i världen på att bygga sådana lösningar och jobbar med det dagligen. Och trots att det vore jättelätt för Jim Keyzer att ha tagit fram konfigurationen, speciellt när jag skall anklagas för den.
Punkt två som jag dömdes för är att jag skall ha byggt ett system för genrer på The Pirate Bay. Jag skall ha förbättrat funktionaliteten på tjänsten genom att på något vis ha fått in genrer. Vad detta nu skulle innebära. I domen står det att jag varit ansvarig för “kategorisering”. När något laddas upp till The Pirate Bay så väljer uppladdaren själv vilken kategori han vill lägga materialet i. Sedan ligger det där. Kategorisystemet har funnits sedan innan åtalsperioden – jag skulle våga påstå att det är det samma systemet som funnits där sedan The Pirate Bay startade. Genrer är dessutom något helt annat än kategorier, det är underkategorier. En kategori är exempelvis Film, Musik eller Spel. En genre är exempelvis Action, Sport eller Hiphop. Det är en ganska stor skillnad i ordemeningen. Men kortfattat så har det inte ändrats några kategorier på The Pirate Bay sedan 2004. Inte ens idag har det ändrats något kring kategorier på The Pirate Bay. Och genrer har aldrig ens funnits, ändå är jag dömd för att ha skapat dem. Anledningen är att jag i ett mejl nämner “genrer on the bay” och att en tredje person i ett mejl undrar om vem som sköter sök och “I think Peter” besvaras. Samtidigt som jag är med och bygger en ny tjänst, The Video Bay, en tjänst för strömmande video som skulle släppas om det inte vore för det stora tillslaget. Trots detta tycker svensk domstol att jag utom rimlig tvivel är bevisat skyldig till kategorisering av innehåll på The Pirate Bay. Det finns inte heller här någon form av teknisk bevisning. Trots att det vore lätt att ta fram. Även detta var en uppgift som föll på Jim Keyzer.
Punkt tre är den jag sagt att jag gjort. Men jag anser inte att jag begått något brott. Jag är dömd för att ha vid ett tillfälle i April 2006 (nästan ett år efter åtalets början) ha skickat en faktura för reklam på The Pirate Bay. Historian bakom var så simpel som att de som betalade för reklamen hade bråk med annonsföretaget som skötte The Pirate Bays annonsering, och krävde därför att ett svenskt bolag skulle fakturera istället. Eftersom jag var omtyckt av alla parter så bad VD:n på detta svenska (börsnoterade) företag mig att skicka fakturan från mitt svenska aktiebolag. Det gjorde jag, och sedan betalade jag en faktura från det bolaget som de själva vägrade betala till. Det var personligt gruff bakom det hela och det var ett sätt att försöka få till stånd ett avslut av detta bråk. Jag tjänade inte en krona på det hela och hade inte pengarna på mitt konto ens en dag. Detta är något som en vanlig inkassofirma hade kunnat vara behjälpliga med annars, utan att bli åtalade eller dömda för det. Jim Keyzer har suttit och förhört dessa personer som sålde reklamen, som ändå tog hälften av de pengarna som tjänades på The Pirate Bay, och inte kommit på tanken att anklaga dem för att ha tjänat pengar eller finansierat den här tjänsten. Åklagaren har haft precis samma inställning. Men i grund och botten så är jag helt säker på att det inte finns något olagligt i det jag har gjort.
I den iver man har haft för att se till att The Pirate Bay skall dömas, så har jag dratts med. Bevis eller ej. Det är uppenbart om man ser till domstolsbeslutet att man haft inställningen att jag skall dömas och sedan försökt hitta någon handling att döma mig för. Att den polismannen som jobbade åt min motpart i målet, tillika politiska motståndare, har kunnat utreda alla datorer i detalj förutom de som gäller mig gör såklart att jag inte riktigt kan se på detta som att jag ens haft en ärlig chans. Att det finns jäviga domare som får välja vilka han vill döma är en fars. Dessa människor i det svenska rättsväsendet har fått utöva den makt som allmänheten gett dem förtroende till, och de har gjort det på ett sådant sätt att jag hoppas de skäms för resten av sina liv. De är regelrätt korrupta och kriminella människor.
Istället vill jag avsluta mitt långa brev med mina reflektioner av det hela. Jag vet att jag har kommit till en punkt där jag har mindre än en promilles chans att slippa undan ett straff. Att slippa få sitta inspärrad för brott som jag inte gjort. Brott som dessutom inte ens begåtts. Brott som säkerligen inte ens är ett brott till att börja med, om de hade begåtts, och som om de hade begåtts inte hade begåtts av mig. Det är en bisarr situation hur långt bort jag är från att ha någon straffskuld. Ändå måste jag sitta några månader inlåst, på en klass 2 anstalt eftersom det anses föreligga risk att jag skall återupprepa dessa brott, brott som inte begåtts, för närmare 7 år sedan. Brott som, om de skall begås, kräver tillgång till höghastighetsinternet, fysiska maskiner, datahallar och liknande. Brott som inte behöver begås, eftersom man inte använder sådan teknik längre. Och när jag kommit ut från anstalten, där jag säkerligen kommer att bli ännu mer bitter över situationen, så har jag en ekonomisk skuld på, än så länge, 100 miljoner kronor. Pengar som är rena fantasisummor, som skall “kompensera” för den medhjälp till medhjälp till möjligt brott som jag skall ha begått genom att ha gjort saker som inte skett. En ekonomisk skuld till några av världens rikaste företag. En skuld som i stort sett betyder att jag inte har en framtid i Sverige som land om jag vill kunna leva på något annat än brödsmulor eller vänners välvilja. Denna skuld är som att bli utvisad. Jag kommer behöva bli en ekonomisk flykting från Sverige.
Denna bisarra situation är något som myndigheter i Sverige blundar för. Det är en skymf mot allt det rättsväsendet skall stå för. Det är en skam för hela befolkningen. En befolkning som inte ens delar åsikterna till de lagar som hänvisas till i fallet jag är dömd i. Och det är dessa saker jag vill att vi alla ska få nåd ifrån. Inte bara jag, utan svenska befolkningen. Förtroendet som gått försvunnet med all jävighet, all uppenbar korruption, ministerstyret som aldrig blev utrett, alla fula taktiker som använts för att tillfredsställa en maktfullkomlig handelspartner. Sveriges rättsväsende har sålt ut enskilda individer. Så skall det inte vara i en demokrati.
Ge sveriges folk nåd från denna korruption.
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