Andre Yoskowitz
11 May 2012 18:45
After being convicted in 2009 and losing appeals, the time has finally come for the founders of the infamous torrent tracker The Pirate Bay to "do their time" in prison.
Peter Sunde, Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neik will all likely face jail time in the Västervik Norra facility in Sweden while the fourth founder, Carl Lundström, will spend the next eight months under house arrest in his Stockholm apartment.
One of those men, Peter Sunde, was supposed to begin his sentence this week but has postponed his plight in the eleventh hour, filing a plea with the Swedish government requesting clemency, citing health concerns. Additionally, Sunde says he fears for the future of his micro-payment business, Flattr.
Without his presence, the company would lose its place in the market, reads Sunde's plea: "The idea for the company came from Peter himself, and he has a tremendous commitment to it. Peter's name and reputation in the industry will open many doors. The company has received a substantial amount of risk capital which has mostly been used to develop the product. After about two years development, the product is now basically ready to begin shipping to partners and large sites. A prerequisite for further development is that Peter is left on the company."
Co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm has disappeared and missed the beginning of his sentence in January.