After serving a string of prison terms in Sweden and Denmark, Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm is finally a free man again. He spent three years behind bars for computer-related offenses.
The release of Svartholm, also known as Anakata, was confirmed by his mother Kristina on Twitter.
Kristina Svartholm @KSvartholm
Yes, #anakata is free now. No more need to call for #freeanakata. Thank you everyone for your important support during these three years!
9:48 AM - 28 Sep 2015
The 30-year-old was released after serving the last month of his term in Sweden, TorrentFreak reported.
Svartholm’s legal troubles started in 2011, when he received a one-year prison term in Sweden for his involvement with the Pirate Bay. He avoided the sentence and was arrested in September 2012 in Cambodia, which deported him to his home country.
Soon after he was accused of hacking and fraud and tried for these crimes in 2013, resulting in a two-year prison term. He appealed the verdict and succeeded in partially overturning it. The Swedish Appeal Court reduced his term to one year.
As he remained in a Swedish prison, Svartholm was accused of hacking in Denmark, an allegation he denied. A court in Denmark sentenced him to a further 3.5 years, but he was released early last month for good behavior.
The release was short-lived, as he was arrested in Sweden again to serve the remaining month of his hacking sentence there.
Other Pirate Bay co-founders, Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij, have served their time on charges related to the file-sharing site. The site remains operational, often changing server locations and domains to remain online.
Source: rt.com
