Fredrik Neij, one of the founders of The Pirate Bay, was arrested last year. He had been planning on spending his time in prison playing video games, but his request to have a NES put in his cell has been knocked back.


As Expressen reports (via TorrentFreak), Neij had asked for a retro system so that he could have something to do while he serves a stint for copyright infringement. Prison authorities said no, though, when they took a look at a NES and found that it violated strict rules they have about items being brought into a cell.


While it’s usually fine for prisoners in Sweden to have access to a console (as it is in some other countries), the NES has a problem in that the prison says it can’t be opened up to be checked for contraband without “destroying” the system, since it uses special screws that a regular screwdriver won’t unscrew.

Neij is appealing, on the grounds that a NES can be opened up if you...pay a few bucks to get a compatible screwdriver. Or, as TF also point out, do something even cheaper.