After being freed from solitary confinement and sent to prison just over a week ago, soon Pirate Bay founder Gottfrid Svartholm will be on the home straight of his sentence. In the early days of January he will reach the halfway point of his confinement and will start looking forward to a potential release towards the middle of the year. But with the prosecutor yet to make a decision on the hacking charges, uncertain times still lie ahead.

It seems like only yesterday when Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm was deported from Cambodia to Sweden, but that took place way back in August.

Of course, time tends to fly by when one has the luxury of distractions such as the Internet and normal life, but Gottfrid has had none of that. From the day he touched down at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport most of his time has been spent in solitary confinement, locked up 23 hours a day for months on end.

But then in early December came some relatively good news. Gottfrid was released from solitary and transferred to a regular prison to serve the remainder of his Pirate Bay-related sentence. But where was he sent?

It seems that Gottfrid has been sent to Mariefred prison roughly 65 km outside Stockholm. Built in 1958, it has a capacity of 112 inmates and 90 staff.

“It took me nearly a day to find out where he was,” Gottfrid’s mother, Kristina Svartholm, informs TorrentFreak. “I was glad to find out that it is only approx. one hour from here and it will thus be easy for us to go there by car.”

Despite the fact the authorities know Kristina very well by this point, there is still an identification process for gaining visitor access. Gottfrid has to send out a document to be signed which is then sent to Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen – the Prison and Probation Service.

“It was a bit of a surprise to me that they must check me after my altogether nine visits during the months he was in custody, but I was told that it was the police that was responsible for me by then, not the ‘Service’. They make their own decisions,” Kristina says.

Once the documents are signed and returned the service checks the records of potential visitors and then, hopefully, grants visiting rights.

“We, Gottfrid’s father and myself, have asked for permission to visit him but are still waiting for an answer to that,” she explains.

When that permission eventually arrives, Gottfrid will be afforded a valuable luxury – the ability to use a telephone to speak with loved ones.

“That will be via a traditional phone, no Skype or mobile or that kind of modern thing,” says Kristina. “And I don’t think he will be permitted to even get a short glance at a computer, not even a disconnected one, while in there!”

So how is Gottfrid bearing up? According to Kristina, remarkably well.

“Gottfrid was allowed to make a phone call his first day in prison, out of the protocol – how nice of them!”

“He sounded just fine. So, knowing that the situation for him is much better now than when he was kept in isolation, it is just a matter of remaining patient and waiting for the visitor’s permission to arrive.”

Access to the telephone will be a welcome treat, especially since an important date is just around the corner. On January 10 2013, Gottfrid will have completed half of his Pirate Bay related sentence and with good fortune will be looking forward to a potential release in May. But in the meantime Gottfrid fans everywhere are keeping him in mind.

As previously reported Gottfrid supporters have responded well to the request to send him emails and in the last couple of days that campaign has been extended to the physical world. The graphic below was posted to The Pirate Bay homepage and it certainly amused Kristina, possibly because Gottfrid is known to wear this kind of hat regularly in real life.

“Gottfrid would definitely appreciate post cards, I am sure. If anyone wants to send him anything, I think that maybe something to read is what he (and the people that must check his mail) would appreciate most,” Kristina explains.

“Gifts like sweets etc will not get through, at least I don’t think so. But it is definitely not necessary to send anything like that at all – a post card with a short hello is very encouraging in itself!”

So for now Gottfrid looks ahead to May, but of course there is the unfinished business concerning the hacking allegations still hanging over his head. For news on that we must wait for a decision from the prosecutor.