Forced DNA samples
Säkerhet & Sekretess ("Security & Secrecy", litterally), a swedish computer magazine, managed to get an interview with The Pirate Bay's legal advisor, Mikael Viborg, who was also taken in by the police yesterday.
Original article here.
*** *** *** Start translation
Suspected pirate forced to supply DNA sample
Mikael Viborg, legal advisor of The Pirate Bay, was picked up by the police at his home yesterday. At the police station, he was forced to leave a DNA sample.
Säkerhet & Sekretess has talked to Mikael Viborg, 24-year old home business owner and law school student, one of the three people who were apprehended on suspicions of crimes against the copyright law. Personally, he claims to have nothing to do with copying files or maintenance of the servers, his only role being The Pirate Bay's legal advisor.
On wednesday around noon, the bust was executed, coordinated on several locations in Sweden, and Mikael says it was just before 12 o'clock the police knocked on the door in his home in Köping.
-There were four policemen from Rikskriminalen [the federal police force, I'd guess..], and as far as I know, they had also been cooperating with the Köping police force. Of course, I wanted to know what it was all about, and eventually they told me I was a suspect of copyright infringement. During the bust, they took all my computers, including peripherals like speakers and other stuff. They even took my cell phone. Then, I came with them to the Köping police station.
-Since I don't really have anything to do with The Pirate Bay other than being its legal advisor, I though this was odd. I don't think I couldn't have handled it myself, but before I said anything, I requested a lawyer, so as to feel safe. They started asking about The Pirate Bay, the workings of bittorrent and about my part in it all.
The real chock was when the prosecutor* decided there would be a DNA test.
-My lawyer, Ingvar Backman, contacted the prosecutor* to ask why, but the only answer was that a DNA test was "completely legal", without any in-depth motivation. I consider a DNA test to be a severe violation of my constitutional rights. This action could hardly be justified in light of the charges and my part as the legal advisor. I don't understand what they want to prove, or what they need the DNA sample for.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, Mikael was released. The suspicions still stand, and they concern violation of the copyright law, or, alternatively, being an accesory to violation of the copyright law.
*** *** *** End translation
Notes
*Prosecutor means åklagare. The original article said kammaråklagare, but I don't know what the English/American counterpart would be. I'm not even sure what a kammaråklagare is, but it's some kind of prosecutor. ;)
Original article here.
*** *** *** Start translation
Suspected pirate forced to supply DNA sample
Mikael Viborg, legal advisor of The Pirate Bay, was picked up by the police at his home yesterday. At the police station, he was forced to leave a DNA sample.
Säkerhet & Sekretess has talked to Mikael Viborg, 24-year old home business owner and law school student, one of the three people who were apprehended on suspicions of crimes against the copyright law. Personally, he claims to have nothing to do with copying files or maintenance of the servers, his only role being The Pirate Bay's legal advisor.
On wednesday around noon, the bust was executed, coordinated on several locations in Sweden, and Mikael says it was just before 12 o'clock the police knocked on the door in his home in Köping.
-There were four policemen from Rikskriminalen [the federal police force, I'd guess..], and as far as I know, they had also been cooperating with the Köping police force. Of course, I wanted to know what it was all about, and eventually they told me I was a suspect of copyright infringement. During the bust, they took all my computers, including peripherals like speakers and other stuff. They even took my cell phone. Then, I came with them to the Köping police station.
-Since I don't really have anything to do with The Pirate Bay other than being its legal advisor, I though this was odd. I don't think I couldn't have handled it myself, but before I said anything, I requested a lawyer, so as to feel safe. They started asking about The Pirate Bay, the workings of bittorrent and about my part in it all.
The real chock was when the prosecutor* decided there would be a DNA test.
-My lawyer, Ingvar Backman, contacted the prosecutor* to ask why, but the only answer was that a DNA test was "completely legal", without any in-depth motivation. I consider a DNA test to be a severe violation of my constitutional rights. This action could hardly be justified in light of the charges and my part as the legal advisor. I don't understand what they want to prove, or what they need the DNA sample for.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, Mikael was released. The suspicions still stand, and they concern violation of the copyright law, or, alternatively, being an accesory to violation of the copyright law.
*** *** *** End translation
Notes
*Prosecutor means åklagare. The original article said kammaråklagare, but I don't know what the English/American counterpart would be. I'm not even sure what a kammaråklagare is, but it's some kind of prosecutor. ;)
posted by Snild at
2:53 PM
2 Comments:
I would assume kammaråklagare would be something similar to a district attorny in the United States or the Crown Prosecution Service/a Crown Prosecutor in the United Kingdom.
By
Anonymous, at 11:03 PM
This is just a guess, but "kammaråklagare" sounds like it could be a specific kind of prosecutor like a "district attorney" or "assistant district attorney" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_Attorney ).
By
Anonymous, at 9:20 AM
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