[s_henry_paulson]

He deserves sympathy for the way this has been handled.

He has been held for something like 7 months without charges under a law that is supposed to allow holding someone while evidence is gathered. The person is not supposed to be held for more than 7 days, 14 at the most. So they've had to keep filing and getting a judge to approve extensions to keep holding him without charging him.

Now, one wonders if they needed 7+ months to gather evidence, if they ever had any evidence to begin with, to justify arresting him.

Who knows, but this is not off to a good start.

The likely answer:

Charges come, they are dropped or dismissed (they were possibly fabricated to begin with), since he is in the country now he is dealt with for Pirate Bay related stuff, credited with time served and is either released or imprisoned for a few more months, and then everyone forgets about it.

[jlouis]

The judge giving extensions is key here. It is customary to operate like this in Scandinavian countries. The idea is that the police has to make a case to the judge that it is worthwhile to still hold him and that they are making progress in the case. Otherwise he would have been released long ago.

It is quite different from other countries, I know, but law is not handled the same way all over the world.

[draugadrotten]

The prosecutor formally has to make the case to extend the remand prison, but it's a formality.

Of course it benefits the prosecutor to keep someone locked up while you work on the prosecution evidence.

But it severly restricts the imprisoned person from working on their defense. Thus, it is bad for the legal principle of "equality at arms".

[jakejake]

I would imagine it is easy for the prosecutor to claim the dependent is a flight risk, since they had such difficulty getting him into the country.

[chenster]

> He has been held for something like 7 months without charges under a law that is supposed to allow holding someone while evidence is gathered.

Is this true? It sounds like no difference from totalitarian system such as Chinese government to legally detain a person for while gathering evidence.

[TylerE]

Can't really go around throwing that particular rock while we still live in the Gitmo glass house.

[AnthonyMouse]

All the more reason to throw it actually. Then let them throw it back and one way or another we can all stop living in glass houses.