September 5, 2012
On the heels of the Pirate Bay co-founder's arrest in Cambodia,
along with the Swedish government's requests of his extradition -- news
came out today that the Southeast Asian country is set to receive $59.4
million in aid from Sweden, according to The Next Web.
Although neither country is pointing to Gottfrid Svartholm Warg's
predicament as a reason for the aid, it does come at a coincidental
time.
Cambodian police arrested Warg last week
in the country's capital. The arrest is believed to be related to his
trouble with Swedish courts, which found him, along with his three
Pirate Bay cohorts, guilty in 2009 of creating 33 copyright-protected files for downloading on Piratebay.org. After failing to show up at a hearing on the matter, he went missing, until now.
It was announced yesterday that Swedish officials traveled to the country to discuss Warg's extradition
with Cambodian officials. Cambodia consented to the extradition.
However, the two countries do not have an extradition agreement, so
Warg cannot be sent to Sweden. Cambodian officials did say that Sweden
can decide where he will be sent.
Then today, in another meeting between the two countries, it was
announced that Cambodia was to receive the nearly $60 million in aid
for "causes of democratic development, human rights, education, and
climate change," according to the foreign news service Xinhua.
"Cambodia considers Sweden as a highly valued development partner and
we will make every best effort to ensure that the aid be utilized
effectively in an efficient and transparent manner," Cambodian Deputy
Prime Minister Keat Chhon said at a ceremony, according to Xinhua.
If Warg eventually finds his way back to Sweden, he'll likely face time
in jail. In 2009, after being found guilty of pirating, the four Pirate
Bay co-founders were sentenced to a year in prison. The court also
fined Warg $1.1 million in damages.
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