Gottfrid Svartholm Warg: Cambodia Dead Tree Press Update

Top photo courtesy of Oscar Swartz.

Both the Phnom Penh Post and the Cambodia Daily state this morning that the deportation of Gottfrid – co founder of the Pirate Bay – is ”now imminent”.

As Khmer440 reported exclusively last Saturday, Gottfrid was arrested by Khmer police last week at his apartment above Cadillac Bar in Phnom Penh on an international arrest warrent – an Interpol red notice – following the failure of his appeal earlier this year after being convicted in 2009 of copyright infringement violations. Gottfrid had decided to remain in Cambodia rather than return to Sweden for the appeal case.

Kate Bartlett of the Cambodia Daily (which does not have an online edition) quotes Deputy National Police Chief Sok Phal as saying that he had met Swedish police officers yesterday who have now arrived in Phnom Penh to deal with the deportation – this is despite the Swedish Embassy here in Phnom Penh refusing to comment on Gottfrid’s arrest. She also received confirmation from Anders Jorle, Director of Press and Media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm that Sweden was responsible for the Interpol red notice.

Chheang Sokha and Justine Drennan of the Post report that Gottfrid’s expulsion order under Cambodia immigration law must be signed off by Interior Minister Sar Kheng and the process will take approximately seven days including the ‘two or three days’ it will take police chief Sok Phal to prepare documents for Sar Kheng to sign.

The Post also quote National Police spokesman Kirt Chanharith as saying that as Cambodia does not have an extradition treaty with Sweden, ”When we kick him out , whatever way Swedish authorities take him is up to them.”

Cambodia does not have direct flights to Sweden and Sweden does not have extradition treaties with any countries neighboring Cambodia.

The Cambodia Daily today report, as tweeted by myself on Monday, that NullCrew – the hacking collective – had successfully compromised Cambodian government websites earlier this week including those of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and a section of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. NullCrew have confirmed the attack and also promise more direct action against Cambodian government computer systems in retaliation for the arrest of Gottfrid which curiously coincided with a visit to Cambodia from the USA by Ron Kirk – the Obama government’s top trade official.

Update Wednesday 5.54pm Cambodia time

And while we’re on the subject of coincidences, well-informed local tweep Casey Nelson has just revealed that Cambodia this week received an astonishing $59 million in aid money from Sweden. It certainly is a funny old world, as we English say.

Update Thursday 12.03am Cambodia time

Sweden’s 400 million kronor ($59 million) donation to Cambodia for ‘social aid’ has now been officially verified by the Chinese news agency xinhuanet.com. The deal was signed on Wednesday by Anne Hogland, Sweden’s ambassador to Cambodia just days after Gottfrid’s arrest and prior to his expected deportation from Cambodia.

Peter Hogan

[email protected] and on twitter as @peter_K440