U.S. wins appeal against alleged pirate

An Australian man facing extradition to the United States over online-piracy charges will find it extremely difficult to defend himself should the U.S. efforts succeed, his lawyer asserts.

Antony Townsden, a Legal Aid Commission lawyer representing Hew Raymond Griffiths, said his client would have a tough time finding legal representation and accessing materials if he is extradited. Townsden made the assertions after the United States won its latest legal battle with Griffiths and he returned to jail in Sydney this week.

U.S. authorities won an appeal against an earlier court finding in March that there was no extraditable offense.

"The question there is...why is he not being processed in this country?" Townsden said. "There is a feeling that he is being head-hunted by the U.S. authorities."

Griffiths is the only alleged member of the software piracy group DrinkorDie whose extradition is being sought, Townsden said.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, DrinkorDie illegally copied and distributed more than $50 million worth of pirated software, movies, games and music before U.S. investigators raided the group in 2001. Griffiths allegedly was the group's top leader.

Several members of the group--which allegedly specialized in "cracking" software by getting around embedded copyright protections and distributing it via the Internet--have already been convicted in the United States, while others face charges in Britain.

"I think it's an unfortunate situation," Townsden said. "A number of people from the U.S. are dealt with in the U.S., and those from the U.K. are dealt with in the U.K. The only person we are aware of in the whole group where extradition has been sought is an Australian. I think it's good enough to say they might find it easier to get (a) prosecution if it's in another country."

Townsden also accused Australian authorities of hiding behind the legal definition of "citizen." Griffiths arrived in Australia from the United Kingdom when he was 7 years old and has never left the country. Townsden said he does not know what Griffiths' citizenship is but that Griffiths consider himself an Australian.

If the extradition and prosecution in the United States succeeds, Griffiths faces up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $500,000. Townsden said that under Australian copyright laws, Griffiths faces a maximum sentence of five years.

Griffiths was indicted last year for one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and one count of copyright infringement.

Townsden said Griffiths' legal team is seeking further advice for grounds to appeal within 15 days.

Kristyn Maslog-Levis of ZDNet Australiareported from Syndey.

So much hypocriscy, so little time...

Imagine that!...leave it to the U.S. to extradite an individual from Australia for something the Chinese (as well as various other countries) have been doing for decades...copyright infringement! I suppose...we're going after Griffiths for the same reason we invaded Iraq...because it's easier to do!
If you can't indict individuals/nations where serious copyright infringement is occurring, then don't go after the head of a small company because it's easy to do!!!

Poor Hew.

Hew was, and I still consider him my friend. I have known him for several years online, as well as offline. I was happy to hear about his sucessful escape from extradiction, but this news of US appealing and winning just turns my stomach.
The Federal Prison system is a nasty place for Americans, but for someone like him to be HALFWAY around the world from his loved ones is just mean.
Yes, we all did something wrong, most of the US based group members all paid their "debt to society", but the felony records that remain with us for the rest of our lives is doing serious damage to our careers and livelyhood.
I wish the US would just allow the Australian Government take care of their own, just as the United States took care of us American's in DOD. I have prayed for the safety of my friends in the group while in prison, and will continue to do so for my friend, Hew Griffiths.

[John Kuzak]

around the world

http://www.analogstereo.com/isuzu_owners_manual.htm

[arnetwork]

and the difference is..

The apparent offender is not Australian but rather a U.K. citizen currently resident in Australia. He appears to be eminently extradictable since his legal residency status in Australia is dubious. Additionally, he comes from a country and went to a country that have in common their cultural, social, psychological and legal accepted belief in private property rights. The rule of law in both countries does not only exist but is widely seen as existing.

This is considerably different from the situation in China where until very, very recently private property rights were not only seen as anti-social but explicitly immoral. The entire judiciary, political leadership and all institutional authority figures gained their position at least in part because of their demonstrated commitment to the proposition that the rule of law and property rights were dangerous concepts that had to be eradicated. While this appears to be slowly changing, for American authoriites to waste their time going after the small Chinese fish while the sharks in the Chinese leadership gobble up all the real racketeering proceeds would be pointless.