Alleged KickassTorrents Owner Leaves Prison for Hospital

[hihello]

Facing severe health issues, alleged KickassTorrents owner Artem Vaulin has been transferred from Polish prison to a local hospital. While he is now able to receive proper care, his conditions are far from ideal. Vaulin is permanently guarded by four officers and is handcuffed to his bed at night, which may cause nerve damage according to doctors.

 

                                                                                                     

 

Four months ago Polish law enforcement officers arrested Artem Vaulin, the alleged founder of KickassTorrents, who’s been held in a local prison since.

 

Polish authorities acted on a criminal complaint from the U.S. Government, which accused him of criminal copyright infringement and money laundering.

 

Over the past few weeks, Vaulin has been fighting a U.S. extradition request. However, facing serious back problems, he was recently transferred to a hospital for treatment and further research.

 

Initially, the court ruled that the health problems weren’t serious enough, but the prison director later decided that his facility doesn’t have the means for adequate treatment

 

According to defense attorney Aleksander Emil Kowzan, Vaulin’s back problems are severe. He further notes that several of the upcoming extradition hearings are postponed for now.

 

“The hearings that were scheduled for the coming days are canceled. Due to the state of his health, our client can not be transported to court,” Vaulin’s lawyer told the Polish press agency.

 

“Doctors have no doubt that surgery is necessary. What’s more, there is a slight paralysis, loss of sensation in the lower limb,” he added.

 

The defense team has asked an expert to determine whether their client is fit enough to take part in future hearings of his case. If not, they must look for alternative solutions. One thought that was raised is to hold the hearings at the hospital.

 

Despite his health problems, Polish authorities are keeping a close eye on the alleged KickassTorrent owner. Vaulin is continuously guarded by four officers, two outside and two inside his room.

 

This is a violation of his rights, according to the defense team, who plan to file a complaint with the ombudsman. The fact that the alleged KickassTorrent operator is cuffed to his bed at night is particularly worrying.

 

“Mr. Vaulin is under constant supervision of four officers – two in the room and two in the front hall. At night, when there are no doctors, there is – in our opinion – a shameful situation. He is handcuffed to the bed.”

 

“This is strongly opposed by the doctors, who explained that this might cause nerve damage,” Vaulin’s lawyer added.

 

Over the past months, Vaulin’s lawyers have pointed out several human rights violations. In addition to the current situation, he was also unable to meet with his U.S. counsel to prepare his defense.

 

For now, Vaulin remains at the hospital. Previously, the court prolonged his custody until mid-February, but if the case is delayed there could be a further extension.

 

Source:TorrentFreak

[46&2]

sad the world we live in puts copy rights over human rights.

[vissha]

He isn't a murderer or terrorist or hacker who did shut the country and not the one who helped any of those. He shouldn't be handcuffed or tortured. Other than copyright case, he is just a normal innocent human and didn't harm anyone physically. This is a serious human rights violation.

[straycat19]

9 hours ago, 46&2 said:

sad the world we live in puts copy rights over human rights.

 

8 hours ago, vissha said:

He isn't a murderer or terrorist or hacker who did shut the country and not the one who helped any of those. He shouldn't be handcuffed or tortured. Other than copyright case, he is just a normal innocent human and didn't harm anyone physically. This is a serious human rights violation.

 

Agree, just cut off his hands, poke out his eyes, cut out his tongue, and remove his eardrums.  Then let him go with the assurance that he can't offend again.  I don't believe in coddling criminals.  Ask the asshole who stole my cellphone.  Oh, wait a minute, you can't...he's dead.  People are under the assumption they have rights but they don't.  They have privileges that are accorded them as law abiding citizens and if they violate that law then their privileges are taken away.  Another way of looking at it is to compare the internet to a train in the 1800s.  The train went places, carrying money and gold, and train robbers stopped and robbed it. They, in their minds, were not hurting anyone because the banks had plenty of money. They were hunted down and killed.  Now let's replace the train with the internet.  The internet carries valuables in the form of music and movie files.  Pirates steal those music and movie files. They aren't hurting anyone, the studios make millions of dollars.   We don't kill them though, we imprison them.  Then people make themselves look like idiots decrying the treatment they receive and their rights.  Maybe we are making the mistake and should have learned from the 1800s.  After all, a bullet is cheaper than supporting a person in jail for a number of years.

[Bausch]

3 hours ago, straycat19 said:

 

 

Agree, just cut off his hands, poke out his eyes, cut out his tongue, and remove his eardrums.  Then let him go with the assurance that he can't offend again.  I don't believe in coddling criminals.  Ask the asshole who stole my cellphone.  Oh, wait a minute, you can't...he's dead.  People are under the assumption they have rights but they don't.  They have privileges that are accorded them as law abiding citizens and if they violate that law then their privileges are taken away.  Another way of looking at it is to compare the internet to a train in the 1800s.  The train went places, carrying money and gold, and train robbers stopped and robbed it. They, in their minds, were not hurting anyone because the banks had plenty of money. They were hunted down and killed.  Now let's replace the train with the internet.  The internet carries valuables in the form of music and movie files.  Pirates steal those music and movie files. They aren't hurting anyone, the studios make millions of dollars.   We don't kill them though, we imprison them.  Then people make themselves look like idiots decrying the treatment they receive and their rights.  Maybe we are making the mistake and should have learned from the 1800s.  After all, a bullet is cheaper than supporting a person in jail for a number of years.

Actually, there are rights, and there are privileges. A driver's license is a privilege. Freedom is a human right. Now under certain laws, certain freedoms are taken from an offending person. But that is a circumstantial exception.

 

Internet piracy is a controversial topic. I, for one, can not imagine how it is possible to equate a criminal to someone who downloads and uses stuff off the internet. Not even someone like those site's operators.

 

There are those who get that stuff and sell it, either as straightforward bootlegged warez, or fraud people and trick into thinking they are legit when they are not. It is that latter type that I condemn, the former is debatable, IMO.

 

The numbers showing that "piracy" hurts sales are extremely inflated and unrealistic. And without real numbers, I can not claim and say most, so I will go with many. Many people who download/use pirated content/software, won't actually buy it if there is no way for them to get it for free. So in the end, they do help the content provider's/rights owners by increasing the mind-share/market-share of said content which in turn does help sales.

 

Regardless of all that. He is still not proven guilty. And even then, he still has basic human rights.

 

Murderers and rapists are out there enjoying their freedom and a torrent site owner under trial is treated this way!? No wonder the world is going downhill.

 

Just because the US government is after him, and the fat cats want his hide, does not mean he is the worlds worst enemy and should not get medical treatment while he is being held in jail. If all those resources were spent were they actually should, maybe there would not have been a reason to do all of this in the first place.

[CODYQX4]

.

[pc71520]

19 hours ago, Bausch said:

Internet piracy is a controversial  topic.

Among the most controversial ones.