4 ms·

That description does not live up to the image I had of Scandinavian prisons. Although I suppose an 8 month sentence will never be about rehabilitation and can

That description does not live up to the image I had of Scandinavian prisons. Although I suppose an 8 month sentence will never be about rehabilitation and can only be used as punishment.

leke 12y ago
I think you are thinking of Norway.
- xxs 12y ago
  I second that: Sweden is no Norway and Scandinavian is not universal.
marvin 12y ago
It is probably a good idea to think twice before you believe a source that says our criminal justice system is all fun and joy. The Scandinavian system is good, but I still don't think being in prison here is easy. (Not to mention that Sunde is pretty close to being a political prisoner, if you consider the details of how the case was carried out).
- mike_hearn 12y ago
  Political prisoner? The guy personally profited off movie piracy. If Sunde is a political prisoner for breaking copyright laws then so is any drug dealer for breaking drug control laws. I don't get the elevation of these guys on some pedestal. I understand we all like getting stuff for free but TPB was not some political project. If they had really believed copyright was so evil they'd have built a site distributing great content people wanted to watch that was licensed liberally by its creators; thus proving that the open source model could work for movies and TV shows. They'd have done what Stallman did. But they didn't.
  - marvin 12y ago
    You misunderstand me. Sunde would not have been prosecuted in Sweden if it was not for political pressure from the United States. Norway and Sweden have a long history of bowing to US pressure when it comes to internal matters. The TPB guys did break Swedish law (*as interpreted by the lower courts) but would not have been chased by the Swedish legal system if it wasn't for external pressure. If I remember correctly, there are also indications that the appeal was unfairly rejected, but I would have to read up on it to be certain.
Udo 12y ago
As a European, I was surprised, too. But the key thing to remember here is that he pissed off some very influential people, so it's likely they stuck him in a maximum security facility with a lot of hardened criminals and some instructions to make his life as difficult as possible. Which is par for the course when you're an activist I guess, and a borderline-but-not-quite political prisoner. If you're someone who gives the authorities a hard time, they'll in turn give you a hard time, such is the nature of political corruption. However, it's important to keep in mind that his sentence is only 10 months, which may not even be served fully. Those months are going to be bad, but the guy will return to his normal life pretty soon. He's a community hero, and financially taken care of, so there's probably not a lot to be worried about in the mid to long term.
- pathy 12y ago
  >so it's likely they stuck him in a maximum security facility with a lot of hardened criminals and some instructions to make his life as difficult as possible The prison is ranked as a "lower security class" prison (Class 2). With 1 being highest and 3 lowest. Considering that he dodged his sentence for several years it is not unreasonable to have him in the slightly higher security prison. Additonally I believe the class 3 prisons are "open prisons" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_prison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_prison ).
  - Udo 12y ago
    Thanks for clearing that up. The article certainly makes an effort to depict it very differently.
- alsetmusic 12y ago
  > Those months are going to be bad, but the guy will return to his normal life pretty soon. I don't know what life is like in other countries, but in the US the branding of having been to prison makes a normal life difficult. My brother made a bad mistake of striking a federal employee about ten years ago and he still can't get work doing more than clearing dishes because of it. He's brilliant, btw, but he'll probably never have an office job or similar ever again.
zura 12y ago
I guess Scandinavian prisons are good for real criminals...
vinkelhake 12y ago
Considering that he is an activist, his description might not be entirely accurate.
kalleboo 12y ago
Doesn't it? It doesn't seem to contradict anything I've read. "The worst thing is the boredom" he says. They even let him buy vegan food. Then there are some restrictions on the mail he receives. I guess one of the "socialist utopia prison" articles had something about a guy with a Playstation and a TV, but that's probably something you earn after years of good behavior, and Sunde is only in for months. Nothing like the stories I hear from the US which are all about concrete walls and toilets with no seat, unsanitary conditions, drug smuggling, violence, etc.

That description does not live up to the image I had of Scandinavian prisons. Although I suppose an 8 month sentence will never be about rehabilitation and can only be used as punishment.

leke 12y ago

I think you are thinking of Norway.

xxs 12y ago
I second that: Sweden is no Norway and Scandinavian is not universal.

marvin 12y ago

It is probably a good idea to think twice before you believe a source that says our criminal justice system is all fun and joy. The Scandinavian system is good, but I still don't think being in prison here is easy. (Not to mention that Sunde is pretty close to being a political prisoner, if you consider the details of how the case was carried out).

mike_hearn 12y ago
Political prisoner? The guy personally profited off movie piracy. If Sunde is a political prisoner for breaking copyright laws then so is any drug dealer for breaking drug control laws. I don't get the elevation of these guys on some pedestal. I understand we all like getting stuff for free but TPB was not some political project. If they had really believed copyright was so evil they'd have built a site distributing great content people wanted to watch that was licensed liberally by its creators; thus proving that the open source model could work for movies and TV shows. They'd have done what Stallman did. But they didn't.
- marvin 12y ago
  You misunderstand me. Sunde would not have been prosecuted in Sweden if it was not for political pressure from the United States. Norway and Sweden have a long history of bowing to US pressure when it comes to internal matters. The TPB guys did break Swedish law (*as interpreted by the lower courts) but would not have been chased by the Swedish legal system if it wasn't for external pressure. If I remember correctly, there are also indications that the appeal was unfairly rejected, but I would have to read up on it to be certain.

Udo 12y ago

As a European, I was surprised, too. But the key thing to remember here is that he pissed off some very influential people, so it's likely they stuck him in a maximum security facility with a lot of hardened criminals and some instructions to make his life as difficult as possible. Which is par for the course when you're an activist I guess, and a borderline-but-not-quite political prisoner. If you're someone who gives the authorities a hard time, they'll in turn give you a hard time, such is the nature of political corruption. However, it's important to keep in mind that his sentence is only 10 months, which may not even be served fully. Those months are going to be bad, but the guy will return to his normal life pretty soon. He's a community hero, and financially taken care of, so there's probably not a lot to be worried about in the mid to long term.

pathy 12y ago
>so it's likely they stuck him in a maximum security facility with a lot of hardened criminals and some instructions to make his life as difficult as possible The prison is ranked as a "lower security class" prison (Class 2). With 1 being highest and 3 lowest. Considering that he dodged his sentence for several years it is not unreasonable to have him in the slightly higher security prison. Additonally I believe the class 3 prisons are "open prisons" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_prison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_prison ).
- Udo 12y ago
  Thanks for clearing that up. The article certainly makes an effort to depict it very differently.
alsetmusic 12y ago
> Those months are going to be bad, but the guy will return to his normal life pretty soon. I don't know what life is like in other countries, but in the US the branding of having been to prison makes a normal life difficult. My brother made a bad mistake of striking a federal employee about ten years ago and he still can't get work doing more than clearing dishes because of it. He's brilliant, btw, but he'll probably never have an office job or similar ever again.

zura 12y ago

I guess Scandinavian prisons are good for real criminals...

vinkelhake 12y ago

Considering that he is an activist, his description might not be entirely accurate.

kalleboo 12y ago

Doesn't it? It doesn't seem to contradict anything I've read. "The worst thing is the boredom" he says. They even let him buy vegan food. Then there are some restrictions on the mail he receives. I guess one of the "socialist utopia prison" articles had something about a guy with a Playstation and a TV, but that's probably something you earn after years of good behavior, and Sunde is only in for months. Nothing like the stories I hear from the US which are all about concrete walls and toilets with no seat, unsanitary conditions, drug smuggling, violence, etc.