Pirate Bay founder wanted in Sweden over unserved jail sentence is arrested in Cambodia

Gottfrid Svartholm was arrested on Thursday in the south-east Asian city of Phnon Penh

The man behind controversial download site Pirate Bay who is wanted by authorities in Sweden has been arrested in Cambodia.

Gottfrid Svartholm was arrested on Thursday in the south-east Asian city of Phnon Penh where he made his home several years ago.

Svartholm, whose website has enabled millions of people around the globe to download download files, music and films without paying, was picked up by police at his apartment above the Cadillac Bar on the riverfront, according to the Torrent Freak website .

In October 2011, Swedish courts ordered that the 27-year-old computer specialist be jailed for 12 months after he failed to attend a court appearance.

However he failed to serve his sentence and became a wanted man.



The reason for his arrest has still not been confirmed and neither Cambodian nor Swedish authorities are commenting the matter.



While there has been no official announcement, according Gottfrid’s lawyer Ola Salomonsson the arrest could be related to The Pirate Bay case.

He was quoted as saying: 'As far as I understand it is because he is on an international wanted list.'

The lawyer said he believed Gottfrid could be returned to his home country eventually, even though there is no extradition treaty between Cambodia and Sweden.



The Pirate Bay, launched in 2003 by a group of friends from Sweden, allows users to search for and access copyrighted content including movies, games and TV shows.

In 2009, the Swedish courts found the site's four founders guilty of helping people circumvent copyright controls.

The ruling was upheld after an appeal in 2010 but the site continues to function.

A message on The Pirate Bay's blog said the move was an attempt by the music business to 'squeeze' it out of the market.

It advised users to 'circumvent the block' and campaign against the move.

The logo for Pirate Bay, the world's biggest file-sharing site

The message said: 'Write to your ISP and tell them to appeal the case. Write to your local MPs and tell them that this is not allowed. Make sure your voice is heard.

'Remember, we’re all the pirate bay, and we must stand united against the censorship from our opponents.'

The Pirate Party UK, a spin-off from the political movement started in Sweden that backs copyright reform, said the latest move will 'not put any extra pennies into the pockets of artists'.

Gottfrid failed to attend the 2010 appeal hearing due to an illness which confined him to a hospital bed in Cambodia.



Despite having supported his original failure to attend court with a medical certificate, Gottfrid also failed to appear at a follow up hearing.



This prompted the Court of Appeal to finalize the initial verdict of a one year jail sentence and a fine of $1.1 million.